Origin: Intoxicated Rat

Subject: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Paul
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 12:45 PM

Since I got such a good response from the last one I posted, here's another goofy song that my wife sings:

Oh the liquor was spilled on the bar room floor
And the bar was closing for the night
When out of his hole crawled a little grey mouse
And he sat in the broad moonlight
He lapped up the liquor on the bar room floor
While on his haunches he sat
And all night long you could hear him roar
Bring on the goddam cat

Does anyone know anything about this? More lyrics, recordings, writer, anything? Her grandfather used to sing it to her.

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Paul
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 12:48 PM

PS: How do you get line-breaks in your messages? Hitting return or tab won't do it for me.

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Jon W.
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 01:52 PM

Paul, you have to put in < BR > (without the spaces) after each line where you want a line break. Search the forum for threads on HTML for more hints.

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Bill in Alabama
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 01:55 PM

Paul-- I believe that this is traditionally a college drinking song; at least that's what it was back in the 'fifties when I was sitting around the fraternity drinking and singing it. This genre reaches back to the late nineteenth century in America, probably earlier elsewhere, and I doubt that you would find much information on origin. Good luck in your quest.

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 02:19 PM

Great song, Paul. Wish I knew the tune. Maybe we can get you trained to post tunes. I fixed your lyrics by indenting with <blockquote> at the beginning and </blockquote> at the end, and <br> at the end of each line. It's easier to post lyrics if you type them in a word processor, and then paste in the HTML tags while you're working on it there. You can even make it easier by using your word processor to find-and-replace. Then copy the whole shebang and paste it into the Mudcat "reply to thread" box here.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Barbara
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 02:30 PM

That's a version of the Intoxicated Rat, as sung by Doc Watson. And, it is in DT. I wonder if the tune is similar as well. I know the tune to the one in DT, I could post that.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: BSeed
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 02:44 PM

The tune for the intoxicated rat is "The Girl I Left Behind Me." --seed

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: BBJ
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 03:14 PM

The tune I've heard is very similar to "Real Old Mountain Dew" isn't it Paul?

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 03:28 PM

Say, Seed, which of the many "Girl I Left Behind" tunes is the right one for "Intoxicated Rat"? Of the many tunes I checked, this one is the one I'm familiar with - but the lyrics I heard were different, and now I can't remember what they were - "Sailor's Hornpipe," maybe? Anyhow, which tune is the right one?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Jon W.
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 03:54 PM

The Girl I left Behind Me, AKA Brighton Camp, and the tune the Clancy Bros. use for The Real Old Mountain Dew are quite similar. But the one (MTDEW2) referenced above is way different, isn't it? The song scans to both tunes (that must mean they have the same meter).

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Pete M
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 05:08 PM

Talking of "The girl I left behing me", and on the subject of cats, another little ditty to this tune which used to be a favourite is:

Oh the black cat tiddled in the white cat's eye,
The white cat said "Cor blimey",
The black cat said "I'm sorry my friend,
But you shouldn't have stood behind me."

Pete M

(line breaks <br> added)

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: BSeed
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 08:36 PM

Joe, It's the one that goes daddle dah dah dah dah dah dah dah, daddle dah dah daddle daddle dah dah.

--seed

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Gene
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 10:10 PM

The Intoxicated Rat - is in the DATABASE...
INTOXICATED RAT * CLICK HERE *

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Barry Finn
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 10:22 PM

Joe the tune you have is the same one I know as "The Girl I Left Behind Me", quite different than the tune/words to "Sailor's Hornpipe". Barry

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: kevin ryan
Date: 10 Sep 98 - 12:57 AM

have also seen the poem used in a guiness ad; in- stead of the mouse lapping up liquor from the floor, her blissed out on guiness stout

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: BSeed
Date: 10 Sep 98 - 03:46 AM

Joe: Or maybe it's
daddle dah dah dah dah daddle daddle dah,
daddle dah dah daddle daddle da-ah dah.

--seed

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Sep 98 - 03:55 AM

Darn it Seed, you got it all wrong! those are the lyrics to "Telstar" and "Pipeline," as recorded by the Ventures. Check it out. No doubt they're in the database.....
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Paul
Date: 10 Sep 98 - 01:04 PM

Eureka! It's almost exactly the tune of "Real Old Mountain Dew" (although I thought it was called "Rare Old Mountain Dew"). Jen will be very pleased when I pick up my mandolin and spew out these new "Intoxicated Rat" lyrics.

Oh! And thanks for the technical support, eh! (We'll see if it works).

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Barbara
Date: 10 Sep 98 - 01:15 PM

Paul, you wouldn't by any chance be a Canadian, eh?

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Jon W.
Date: 10 Sep 98 - 01:24 PM

Joe & Seed, I always thought that was the guitar part to Wipeout--Oh wait, that's da daddle daddle da da da, da daddle daddle da da da...

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: BSeed
Date: 10 Sep 98 - 08:11 PM

And then there's "Red Haired Boy":
Daddle dah dah daddle daddle daddle daddle dah,
Daddle dah dah daddle daddle daddle daddle dah;
Daddle dah dah daddle daddle daddle daddle dah,
Daddle dah dah daddle daddle daddle daddle dah.

--seed

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: BSeed
Date: 11 Sep 98 - 01:29 AM

I thought I had posted this six hours ago: The above is the a part only. Joe, you can post the b part. --seed

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: mafreeh
Date: 11 Sep 98 - 12:31 PM

We use words almost exactly like Paul's wife to the tune the girl i left behind me But we finish with:

The cat crst in 'bout quarter passed two

And gobbled up the little grey mouse

And the moral of this story is

Never take a drink on the house.

Subject: RE: Bring on the goddam cat
From: Barbara
Date: 14 Sep 98 - 07:29 PM

On the Vanguard recording simply called Doc Watson, it says about this song (The Intoxicated Rat):
"Doc heard the Dixon Brothers' recording of this song (Bluebird BB 6327) when he was in his early teens and learned it at that time. Dorsey Dixon made up the song to the tune of Wade Mainer's version of "Three Nights Drunk" (an American derivation of Child Ballad number 274, 'Our Goodman). the Dixons simply sing the song to the accompaniment of straight Spanish and Hawaiian steel guitars; the monologe and sound effects are 'Watsonisms."