You sniff at the buttered-down bag for a while
Gauge your white whiskers to measure the miles
Then I noticed a tear in your pussycat
eyes As I gather meself for the road
Go play with your sister George,
catch a grey mouse
There's a sleepy old sparrow there,
back of the house
There you'll find as much peace as good fortune allows
Till your robber dog ruffles me home
My son he said to me a long time ago That his face was like a song,
like a song
To my true love she smiled,
and to me she did say
You may search the world over amongst rakes and wild rovers
Tomcats and tappies and black and white daddies
But no nicer nature you'll find
On the day of your birth,
when you first saw the light
Plato deposed that you weren't quite right
So he sketched a black diamond right under
your white And a single black boot for the rain
Eight lives and a half unto you he bestowed
And he gave you a bag of meows for the road
Called Pengarbon
to take you in tow Down the long road to our family
My son he said to me a long time ago That his face was like a song,
like a song
To my true love she smiled,
and to me she did say
You may search the world over from Dingle to Dover
Tomcats and tappies,
black and white daddies But no nicer nature you'll find
I stare at the tattered old basket in vain
The empty blue dish that measures the pain
I squint at the storm-spattered window in vain
For the bushiest tale on the road
The talk to my heart
and the deep melody And Samhain's dark mantle has enveloped me
And I curse every car and each fool who tells me
Surely he was only an old Tomcat