The Cat Carol

Now available on CD!
Features a beautiful 4-page full color booklet insert, with the lyrics and additional illustrations! Now shipping! I'll also send you a digital version of the song now!

(Most of this cost is shipping)

Looking for a digital version only? Buy the mp3 directly, and pay what you would like (suggested price $2.00, but more is much appreciated).

Once you have made your purchase, I will email you the details for downloading. (usually within a few hours or sooner.) If you have any questions, please just email. Thank you! -Bruce

Notes

Cat Carol ornament and more!

The Cat Carol is a Christmas song, written by myself, and performed by Meryn Cadell. It also features performances by talented artists such as Ken Myhr (guitarist from Cowboy Junkies, Jane Siberry), Erica Buss, and Tyler Stewart (Barenaked Ladies).

I am constantly amazed by the response the song generates whenever it is played. The Cat Carol has a traditional appeal, but there’s an underlying humour which keeps it from getting too sucky. It crosses boundaries of age and audience, and has become a Christmas classic.

The first year it was released, it was the most requested song on Toronto's Q107 rock radio (!). Since then it has received regular airplay across the country during the holiday season. It's been highlighted several times on that fine show, Definitely Not the Opera, and I'm told it was the number one requested Christmas song on CBC radio for many years in a row!

The song also made an appearance in the Christmas episode of After Y2K, a fabulous web-comic featured at Geekculture.com, the project I'm currently involved in. Be sure to check out the Joy of Tech comic too.

You can purchase The Cat Carol on its own CD on this page with a unique 4-page digital booklet and illustrations. You can also purchase a downloadable mp3 version at the top left or bottom left of this webpage.

The Cat Carol CD!

The Cat Carol CD!
Now shipping, the Cat Carol on its own CD!
This package features a jewel box with a full color booklet insert, featuring the lyrics and additional illustrations!
I'll also email you a digital version of the song!

You can also purchase just the downloadable mp3 version at the top left or bottom left of this webpage.

Liner Notes:

Cat Carol cards!

Performed by Meryn Cadell
Guitars by Ken Myhr
Additional Vocals: Erica Buss, Bruce Evans, Neil Exall, Chloé Franklin-Humphries, Jessamyn Kobryn-Hurd, and Tyler Stewart.
Written by Bruce Evans.
Arranged by Meryn Cadell and Bruce Evans.
Booklet illustrations by Nitrozac

Many thanks to all the Cat Carollers, the B.T.C’s bells, and Jaime. Recorded at Umbrella Sound, Toronto, Canada, in the month of December.

©1993 Bruce Evans

Lyrics

Cat Carol t-shirts and more!

Cat Carol toddler t-shirts and more!

Cat Carol ornament!

The Cat Carol

The cat wanted in to the warm warm house,
but no one would let the cat in
It was cold outside on Christmas Eve,
She meowed and meowed by the door.

The cat was not let in the warm warm house,
And her tiny cries were ignored.
'twas a blizzard now, the worst of the year,
There was no place for her to hide.

Just then a poor little mouse crept by,
He had lost his way in the snow.
He was on his last legs and was almost froze,
The cat lifted him with her paw.

She said "Poor mouse do not be afraid,
because this is Christmas Eve.
"On this freezing night we both need a friend,
"I won’t hurt you - stay by my side."

She dug a small hole in an icy drift,
This is where they would spent the night.
She curled herself 'round her helpless friend,
Protecting him from the cold.

Oooooo

When Santa came by near the end of the night,
the reindeer started to cry.
They found the cat lying there in the snow,
and they could see that she had died.

They lifted her up from the frozen ground,
and placed her into the sleigh.
It was then they saw the little mouse wrapped up,
she had kept him warm in her fur.

"Oh thank you Santa for finding us!
"Dear cat wake up we are saved!"
..."I’m sorry mouse but your friend has died,
there’s nothing more we can do.

"On Christmas Eve she gave you her life,
the greatest gift of them all."
Santa lifted her up into the night sky,
and laid her to rest among the stars.

"Dear mouse don’t cry you are not alone,
you will see your friend every year.
"Each Christmas a Cat Constellation will shine,
to remind us that her love’s still here."

Oooooooo

Reviews...

Looking for a digital version? Buy the mp3 directly, and pay what you would like (suggested price $2.00, but more is much appreciated).

Thank you! -Bruce

Once you have made your purchase, I will email you the details for downloading. (usually within a few hours or sooner.) If you have any questions, please just email.

Love the song? Support my continued songwriting existence!

:-)

Thank you! -Bruce

Angela wrote me some lovely words...

I wanted to share with you one more thing about this song. It has always made me cry, but in a very thankful way. My younger sister used to tell me that she couldn't listen to this song because she just wanted to cry. About 14 years ago my sister adopted two maine coon cats. Just before Halloween she had to make the painful decision to put one down due to cancer. She was beside herself, as you can imagine. Just yesterday, she adopted two more kittens, when she was only looking for just one! haha When I contacted you this morning, I really thought about the words to this song. And since it is Christmas, and this loss is still so fresh in their hearts, I want to remind her that she can look up to they sky for her cat constellation to shine! Just like in your song, the cat dies and saves the mouse. Her cat died, and she saved two rescue kittens! We miss those precious souls, but realize the imprints they put on our hearts and they make space for so much more love and understanding.

Here's a snippet of a very kind review by Christopher Thelen from the Daily Vault. (You can read the full review here.)

... And one such release which just hit my inbox recently, Christmas Songs from the Canadian label Nettwerk, could well be the best collection I've heard of the bunch.

Some of these artists you most definitely know; some of them you've probably never heard of. One thing is for certain, though: by the time you're done with this disc, you'll probably want to know a lot more about most of these artists.

It would be easy to start things out by talking about Sarah McLachlan's contribution to this disc ("Song For A Winter's Night") or her jazzy collaboration with Barenaked Ladies ("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen")... but I'm not gonna do that. No, instead let's focus on the track which I was prepared to absolutely hate - and quickly became my favorite.

The artist? Meryn Cadell, who had a one-off hit in the States a few years back. I have her CD Angel Food For Thought, and absolutely hated it, so I saw no reason why I'd like "The Cat Carol". Boy, was I wrong. This is tenderly sung, and the tale of unbelievable sacrifice during the holidays actually had me in tears. If this song isn't a classic in time, I'd be surprised. Well done!

Thanks Christopher!

And some more kind words from Jack Lafreniere...

I simply loved this song, it kind of gets ya right there *points to heart* and brings a tear to your eye.

The way I see the song, It shows you that two enemies even in the worst conditions (e.g.: the cold weather as mentioned in the song) could showthe courage to put their differences aside and be friends.

Thanks Jack!

I keep telling myself I have to produce an animation to go with the song, I think it would be great. Hopefully one day soon this will come about.

But to be fair here's "Another view of the Cat Carol"...

My 8-year-old daughter still bursts into sincere, sobbing tears almost daily since we heard the song on the car radio Christmas Eve...Christmas morning was spent pretty much weeping uncontrollably. Can't wait for next year.
Chas P.

Oh well, I guess you can't win 'em all.

Wishing you all the very best,

Bruce