|f_annotation='''(AND THE) CAT CAME BACK'''. American, Reel (2/4 or cut time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB ('''Devil's Box'''). Christeson (1973) notes: "Played by a few Missouri fiddlers in ... the early 1930's but is seldom heard any more." The tune was actually a Tin-Pan-Alley song from the 1890's, written by Harry S. Miller and popularized by New York entertainer Tony Pastor.
|f_annotation='''(AND THE) CAT CAME BACK'''. American, Reel (2/4 or cut time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB ('''Devil's Box'''). Christeson (1973) notes: "Played by a few Missouri fiddlers in ... the early 1930's but is seldom heard any more." The tune was actually a Tin-Pan-Alley song from Christmas, 1893, written by prolific songwriter [[wikipedia:Harry_S._Miller]] and popularized by New York entertainer and Broadway impresario [[wikipedia:Tony_Pastor]]. The song entered folk tradition and there are numerous verses and variations of the lyric, but the stable chorus goes:[[File:Catcameback.jpg|right|350px|thumb|]]
|f_source_for_notated_version=Doc Roberts (Ky.) [Reiner & Anick]; Kevin Wimmer [Phillips].
<blockquote>
|f_printed_sources=R.P. Christeson ('''Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 1'''), 1973; p. 8. Stephen F. Davis ('''The Devil's Box''', vol. 13, No. 4, Dec. 1979; p. 32.
''But the cat came back, he couldn't stay no longer,''<br>
Phillips ('''Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1'''), 1994; p. 15.
''Yes the cat came back de very next day,''<br>
''the cat came back—thought she were a goner,''<br>
''But the cat came back for it wouldn't stay away.''<br>
</blockquote>
It was popularized among country musicians in the early 78 RPM era through recordings by north Georgia's [[wikipedia:Fiddlin'_John_Carson]] and [[wikipedia:Riley_Puckett]], and by Kentucky's [[wikipedia:Fiddlin'_Doc_Roberts]]. It was later recorded by fiddler [[wikipedia:Tommy_Jackson_(musician)]], and (late in his career) [[wikipedia:Clark_Kessinger]].
|f_source_for_notated_version=Doc Roberts (Ky.) [Milliner & Koken, Reiner & Anick]; Kevin Wimmer [Phillips].
|f_printed_sources=R.P. Christeson ('''Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 1'''), 1973; p. 8. Stephen F. Davis ('''The Devil's Box''', vol. 13, No. 4, Dec. 1979; p. 32. Clare Milliner & Walt Koken ('''Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes'''), 2011; p. 8. Phillips ('''Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1'''), 1994; p. 15.
Reiner & Anick ('''Old-Time Fiddling Across America'''), 1989; p. 98.
Reiner & Anick ('''Old-Time Fiddling Across America'''), 1989; p. 98.
|f_recorded_sources=Marimac AHS #3, Glen Smith – "Say Old Man" (1990. Learned from Tommy Jackson).
|f_recorded_sources= Challenge 307 (78 RPM), Fiddlin' Doc Roberts (1927). Decca 5442 (78 RPM), Riley Puckett (1937). Document DOCD 8042, "Fiddlin' Doc Roberts; Complete Recorded Works, vol. 1, 1925-1928," (1999). Dot Records 45-235 (45 RPM), Tommy Jackson (1955). Marimac AHS #3, Glen Smith – "Say Old Man" (1990. Learned from Tommy Jackson). OKeh Records 40119 (78 RPM), Fiddlin' John Carson (1924).
Morning Star 45005, Doc Roberts – "Way Down South in Dixie" (Learned from Madison County, Ky., African-American fiddler Owen Walker {b. 1857), a well-known local entertainer).
Morning Star 45005, Doc Roberts – "Way Down South in Dixie" (Learned from Madison County, Ky., African-American fiddler Owen Walker {b. 1857), a well-known local entertainer).
|f_see_also_listing=
|f_see_also_listing=Hear Doc Roberts' 1927 recording at Slippery Hill [https://www.slippery-hill.com/content/and-cat-came-back]<br>
(AND THE) CAT CAME BACK. American, Reel (2/4 or cut time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Devil's Box). Christeson (1973) notes: "Played by a few Missouri fiddlers in ... the early 1930's but is seldom heard any more." The tune was actually a Tin-Pan-Alley song from Christmas, 1893, written by prolific songwriter wikipedia:Harry_S._Miller and popularized by New York entertainer and Broadway impresario wikipedia:Tony_Pastor. The song entered folk tradition and there are numerous verses and variations of the lyric, but the stable chorus goes:
But the cat came back, he couldn't stay no longer, Yes the cat came back de very next day, the cat came back—thought she were a goner, But the cat came back for it wouldn't stay away.
Additional notes Source for notated version : - Doc Roberts (Ky.) [Milliner & Koken, Reiner & Anick]; Kevin Wimmer [Phillips].
Printed sources : - R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 1), 1973; p. 8. Stephen F. Davis (The Devil's Box, vol. 13, No. 4, Dec. 1979; p. 32. Clare Milliner & Walt Koken (Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes), 2011; p. 8. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 15.
Reiner & Anick (Old-Time Fiddling Across America), 1989; p. 98.
Recorded sources : - Challenge 307 (78 RPM), Fiddlin' Doc Roberts (1927). Decca 5442 (78 RPM), Riley Puckett (1937). Document DOCD 8042, "Fiddlin' Doc Roberts; Complete Recorded Works, vol. 1, 1925-1928," (1999). Dot Records 45-235 (45 RPM), Tommy Jackson (1955). Marimac AHS #3, Glen Smith – "Say Old Man" (1990. Learned from Tommy Jackson). OKeh Records 40119 (78 RPM), Fiddlin' John Carson (1924).
Morning Star 45005, Doc Roberts – "Way Down South in Dixie" (Learned from Madison County, Ky., African-American fiddler Owen Walker {b. 1857), a well-known local entertainer).
See also listing at : Hear Doc Roberts' 1927 recording at Slippery Hill [1]
