I Bought Me a Cat (I Had a Cat and the Cat Pleased Me) Lyrics
A farmyard song that adds one animal each verse, from the cat to the dog. Known to many as I Bought Me a Cat, the Kentucky singers of 1916 began 'I had a cat and the cat pleased me', and every animal has its own sound.
I Bought Me a Cat (I Had a Cat and the Cat Pleased Me)
I had a cat and the cat pleased me,
I fed my cat under yonder tree.
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
I had a hen and the hen pleased me,
I fed my hen under yonder tree.
Hen goes chimmy-chuck chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
I had a duck and the duck pleased me,
I fed my duck under yonder tree.
Duck goes quack-quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
I had a goose and the goose pleased me,
I fed my goose under yonder tree.
Goose goes swishy-swashy,
Duck goes quack-quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
I had a sheep and the sheep pleased me,
I fed my sheep under yonder tree.
Sheep goes ba-ba,
Goose goes swishy-swashy,
Duck goes quack-quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
I had a hog and the hog pleased me,
I fed my hog under yonder tree.
Hog goes griffy-gruffy,
Sheep goes ba-ba,
Goose goes swishy-swashy,
Duck goes quack-quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
I had a cow and the cow pleased me,
I fed my cow under yonder tree.
Cow goes moo-moo,
Hog goes griffy-gruffy,
Sheep goes ba-ba,
Goose goes swishy-swashy,
Duck goes quack-quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
I had a horse and the horse pleased me,
I fed my horse under yonder tree.
Horse goes neigh-neigh,
Cow goes moo-moo,
Hog goes griffy-gruffy,
Sheep goes ba-ba,
Goose goes swishy-swashy,
Duck goes quack-quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
I had a dog and the dog pleased me,
I fed my dog under yonder tree.
Dog goes bow-wow,
Horse goes neigh-neigh,
Cow goes moo-moo,
Hog goes griffy-gruffy,
Sheep goes ba-ba,
Goose goes swishy-swashy,
Duck goes quack-quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/i-bought-me-a-cat/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Sung in a steady rhythm, with the animal sounds added in a list at the end of each verse
- Best for ages
- 2 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Cat goes fiddle-i-fee | Curl the fingers like paws and make a little fiddling movement. |
| Hen goes chimmy-chuck chimmy-chuck | Tuck the hands into the armpits and flap like wings. |
| Duck goes quack-quack | Open and close the hand like a beak. |
| Goose goes swishy-swashy | Sway the arms from side to side. |
| Sheep goes ba-ba | Tap the hands lightly on the head like a woolly cap. |
| Hog goes griffy-gruffy | Wrinkle the nose and snuffle. |
| Cow goes moo-moo | Hold two fingers up beside the head as horns. |
| Horse goes neigh-neigh | Gallop with the hands on the knees. |
| Dog goes bow-wow | Pant with the tongue out and paw the air. |
What Does I Bought Me a Cat (I Had a Cat and the Cat Pleased Me) Mean?
This is a cumulative song: each verse brings a new animal, and then the sounds of all the animals so far are sung back in a list, newest first, ending with the cat every time. By the last verse there are nine animals, and the singers have to remember all of them in order.
The verse pattern is simple. I had a cat and the cat pleased me means the singer owned a cat and was happy with it. I fed my cat under yonder tree means the singer fed it under the tree over there. Then the animal speaks. The sounds are a mix of real animal noises, moo-moo, quack-quack, bow-wow, and invented ones: fiddle-i-fee for the cat, chimmy-chuck for the hen, swishy-swashy for the goose and griffy-gruffy for the hog, which is another word for a pig. The cat's line rhymes with me and tree in the first verse.
The two names of the song come from the opening line. Many families sing I bought me a cat; this Kentucky version from 1916 begins I had a cat.
History and Origin
This version was printed in Lonesome Tunes: Folk Songs from the Kentucky Mountains (H. W. Gray Company, New York, 1916), with the words collected and edited by Loraine Wyman and a piano accompaniment by Howard Brockway. The book calls this song The Barnyard Song. Its introduction says that the aim was to give the songs as nearly as possible as they were heard sung by the people, with their simplicity left as it was.
The nine animals appear in the order cat, hen, duck, goose, sheep, hog, cow, horse and dog. There are nine verses, and the verse lengthens by one line each time, from three lines in the first to eleven in the last.
Learning Activities
- Memory game: after each verse, ask the child to say all the animals so far in order, then check with the song.
- Animal sound cards: make nine cards with a drawing of each animal and put them in a row as the song grows.
- Your own farm: add a tenth verse with a new animal and invent a new sound for it.
- Sing it backwards: start at the dog and work back to the cat, one sound at a time.