A preschool student recently requested “The Cat Came Back” for music class.
It wasn't one of my “go-to” songs, so I had to dig up the lyrics and learn the chords.  
 
Written by Harry S. Miller in 1893, the original song title and lyrics contained racial slurs, and thus it is now merely known as, “The Cat Came Back.”  The song is basically about all the ways that Ol’ Mister Johnston tries to get rid of a persistent and seemingly indestructible cat.   There are vivid descriptions of people’s attempts to destroy the cat, followed by violent imagery of how each was met with their own demise.  Take the following verse, for example:
 
Now the man around the corner swore he'd kill the cat on sight
He loaded up his shotgun with nails and dynamites
He waited and he waited for the cat to come around
Ninety-seven pieces of the man is all they found
 
Not exactly what you expect for the preschool set…
 
Since it’s original publication, many have altered the song, omitting offensive slurs and tamping down hyper-violent lyrics, (though current reference to a “yellow” cat could be deemed offensive.) Eventually it became a school-age favorite.  For my own classes, I borrowed or modified modern verses and added some of my own lyrics, as I often do. 
 
“The Cat Came Back” has an admittedly catchy tune, with a basic 2/4 beat that’s easy for young children to feel.  Repetition ensures that they can sing along during the chorus, which contains the joke that the cat keeps coming back no matter what:   
 
But the cat came back, the very next day
The cat came back, they thought he was a goner
But the cat came back, he just wouldn't stay away
 
And honestly, who can deny the identification children must feel when a mere little cat “sticks it to the man!”  Children, so often powerless in their own lives, enjoy experiencing, even if second hand, the cat’s power.
 
I found myself obsessively singing and humming this song day and night. Simultaneously, in May, voices and actions all around the country and world were rising up against the mistreatment and oppression of black people in America.   In that context, I began seeing “The Cat Came Back” as a song of strength against oppression - a confident declaration of human rights and a reminder that until all people are treated with respect and dignity, and allowed access to all aspects of society, there will be no true peace.  
 
It is as if the cat is saying, “You can try to get rid of me.  You can try to keep me down. But I will return and rise up, bringing those willing to stand with me, as we push against a system of oppression that benefits only those few of you in power.”  
 
Perhaps “The Cat Came Back” is a cautionary tale against tyranny…
 
Like other forms of human language, many folk songs are ever-evolving.   We need a closing verse for “The Cat Came Back” that seals the deal on human rights, dignity and access for all.
 
Any of you writers or lyricists want to give it a try?  Please send me your ideas!!!