Australian folkie Eric Bogle is best known for two of his songs, both relating to the First World War: No Man's Land (AKA The Green Fields of France) and the wonderful The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, best known in its cover version by The Pogues. He also writes contemporary protest songs, adressing social and political issues. But like most folk singers, in the end, Eric can't really take himself seriously.
Crass, tasteless and hysterically funny, this little ditty by is apparently the one that polarises his audiences most effectively. Forget contentious political questions like gun control - if someone is going to walk out of a Bogle show, they'll do it when he starts singing about a squashed cat. The ones who stay, of course, are howling with laughter and delight.
Nobody's Moggy Now
Somebody's moggy by the side of the road
Somebody's pussy who forgot his highway code
Someone's favorite feline who ran clean out of luck
When he ran on to the road and tried to argue with a truck
Yesterday he purred and played in his pussy paradise
Decapitating tweety birds and masticating mice
Now he's just six pounds of raw mincemeat that don't smell very nice
He's nobody's moggy now.
All you who love your pussy be sure to keep him in
Don't let him argue with a truck, the truck is bound to win
And upon the busy road, don't let him play or frolic
If you do I'm warning you it could be CATastrophic
If he tries to play on the roadway, I'm afraid that will be that
There will be one last despairing MEOW! and a sort of squelchy splat
And your pussy will be slightly dead and very, very flat
He's nobody's moggy, just red and squashed and soggy
He's nobody's moggy now
Eric Bogle
Used with permission