Мысық қайтып келді: Халық әнінің тарихы мен ерекшеліктері

Comic song written by Harry S. Miller
the animated films

"The Cat Came Back" is a comic song written by Harry S. Miller in Christmas 1893. It has since entered the folk tradition and been recorded under variations of the title—"But the Cat Came Back", "And the Cat Came Back", etc. It is also a popular children's song.

The song is often used to teach children the concepts of rhythm and tempo. It is an excellent example in this regard, especially the minor key versions of the song, because of the strong and consistent beat pattern, combined with amusing and humorous lyrics. Like many children's songs, the song has a strong well defined beat pattern. It consists of one weak beat, one strong beat, so it is often sung in time. Thus it can be (and often is) sung while walking, with, for example, strong beats when the left foot hits the ground and weak beats when the right foot hits the ground.

Many versions are in a major key, but there are some versions in a minor key. The chord progression for many of the minor key versions is Em, D, C, B.

Also, the second line of the chorus "thought he was a goner" is often sung either off key (deliberately), or just spoken (not sung), or includes chirps or quarter tones (notes that fall between semitones). In some versions the chirps can be approximated by a chromatic glissando.

The chord progression lends itself to a bass line that is natural minor descending, and harmonic minor ascending, i. e. in the key of A minor, the 8 beats (in 8/ time) would play out as A, A, G, G, F, F, E, G♯. This is practically the lament bass used in many chaconnes, e. g. Pachelbel's Chaconne in F minor.

Additionally, the bass line may be played as melodic minor (i. e. including both an F♯ and a G♯ on the way up). This second variation is effective in teaching children the concept of a melodic minor scale, since melodic minor otherwise occurs so seldom in simple children's songs.

The song has been translated in 1970 by Steve Waring, a French American author, under the title "Le matou revient" (a follow up song has even been written in 2008 by the same author).

The song has been translated in the late 1970s into a German dialect, spoken in southwestern Germany around Saarbrücken. Its punch line is political: After the fall of atomic and hydrogen bombs, the whole world decays, including the Saar region, but the cat survives. Erich Steiner, university professor for Anglistics, is cited as translator by folk musician Jürgen Brill. Meanwhile, there exists another version in the similar dialect from Idar Oberstein; here, the political statement has been removed.