Musicals - Cats: Growltiger's Last Stand And The Ballad Of Billy McCaw Lyrics
CHORUS:Growltiger was a bravo cat who travelled on a bargeIn fact he was the roughest cat that ever roamed at largeFrom Gravesend up to Oxford he pursued his evil aimsRejoicing in his title ofGROWLTIGER:The "Terror of the Thames"! Ha ha ha ha!GRUMBUSKIN:His manners and appearance did not calculate to pleaseHis coat was torn and seedy, it was baggy at the kneesOne ear was somewhat missing, no need to tell you whyAnd he scowled upon a hostile world from one forbidding eyeCHORUS:The cottagers of Rotherhithe knew something of his fameAt Hammersmith and Putney, people shuddered at his nameThey would fortify the hen house, lock up the silly gooseWhen the rumor ran along the shore:GROWLTIGER:Growltiger's on the loose! Ha ha ha ha!SOLOS:Woe to the weak canary that fluttered from its cageWoe to the pampered Pekinese, that faced Growltiger's rageWoe the bristly bandicoot that lurks on foreign shipsAnd woe to any cat with whom Growltiger came to gripsBut most to cats of foreign race his hatred had been vowedTo cats of foreign name and race, no quarter was allowedThe Persian and the Siamese regarded him with fearBecause it was a Siamese had mauled his missing earTUMBLEBRUTUS:Now on a peaceful summer night all nature seemed at playThe tender moon was shining bright, the barge at Molesey layCHORUS:All in the balmy moonlight it lay rocking on the tideAnd Growltiger was disposed to show his sentimental sideGRUMBUSKIN:Growltiger's bucko mate, Grumbuskin, long since had disappearedFor to the bell at Hampton he had gone to wet his beardTUMBLEBRUTUS:And his bosun, Tumblebrutus, he too had stol'n awayIn the yard behind the lion he was prowling for his preyGROWLTIGER:In the forepeak of the vessel, Growltiger sat aloneGRIDDLEBONE:Concentrating his attention on the lady GriddleboneCREW:And his raffish crew were sleeping in their barrels and their bunksSIAMESE:As the Siamese came creeping in their sampans and their junksGROWLTIGER:Growltiger had no eye or ear for aught but GriddleboneGRIDDLEBONE:And the lady seemed enraptured by his manly baritoneBOTH:Disposed to relaxation and awaiting no surpriseSIAMESE:But the moonlight shone reflected from a thousand bright blue eyesAnd closer still and closer the sampans circled 'roundAnd yet from all the enemy there was not heard a soundThe foe was armed with toasting forks and cruel carving knivesGROWLTIGER AND GRIDDLEBONE:And the lovers sang their last duet in danger of their livesGROWLTIGER:Oh, how well I remember the Old Bull and BushWhere we used to go down of a Saturday nightWhere, when anything happened, it come with a rushFor the boss, Mr. Clark, he was very politeA very nice house, from basement to garretA very nice house. Ah, but it was the parrot--The parrot, the parrot named Billy McCawThat brought all those folks to the barAh! He was the life of the bar.Of a Saturday night, we was all feeling brightAnd Lily La Rose -- the barmaid that was --She'd say, "Billy, Billy McCaw!Come give us, come give us a dance on the bar!"And Billy would dance on the barAnd Billy would dance on the barAnd then we'd feel balmy, in each eye a tearAnd emotion would make us all order more beerLily, she was a girl what had brains in her headShe wouldn't have nothing, no not that much saidIf it come to an argument or a disputeShe'd settle it offhand with the toe of her bootOr as likely as not put a fist through your eyeOr when we was happy and just a bit dryOr when we was thirsty and just a bit sad,She would rap on the bar with that corkscrew she hadAnd say,GROWLTIGER AND GRIDDLEBONE:"Billy, Billy McCaw!GROWLTIGER:"Come give us a tune on your pastoral flute!"And Billy'd strike up on his pastoral fluteGROWLTIGER AND GRIDDLEBONE:And Billy'd strike up on his pastoral fluteGROWLTIGER:And then we'd feel balmy, in each eye a tearAnd emotion would make us all order more beerGROWLTIGER AND GRIDDLEBONE:"Billy, Billy McCaw!Come give us a tune on your moley guitar!"And Billy'd strike up on his moley guitarAnd Billy'd strike up on his moley guitarAnd then we'd feel balmy, in each eye a tearAnd emotion would make us all order more beerCHORUS:Billy, Billy McCaw!Come give us a tune on your moley guitarGROWLTIGER:Ah! He was the life of the bar.Gilbert:Then Gilbert gave the signal to his fierce Mongolian hordesWith a frightful burst of fireworks, the chinks they swarmed aboardThen Griddlebone she gave a screech for she was badly skeeredI'm sorry to admit it, but she quickly disappearedGROWLTIGER:She probably escaped with ease I'm sure she was not drownedCHORUS:But a serried ring of flashing steel Growltiger did surroundThe ruthless foe pressed forward in stubborn rank on rankGrowltiger to his vast surprise was forced to walk the plankHe who a hundred victims had driven to that dropAt the end of all his crimes was forced to go ker-flip, ker-flop!GROWLTIGER:Ahhhhh!!!CHORUS:Oh there was joy in Wapping when the news flew through the landAt Maidenhead and Henley there was dancing on the StrandRats were roasted whole in Brentford and Victoria DockAnd a day of celebration was commanded in Bangkok!(DANCE -- SIAMESE)GUS:These modern productions are all very wellBut there's nothing to equal from what I hear tellThat moment of mystery when I made history
