Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat (From "Cats")

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat

The cat of the Railway Train

There's a whisper down the line at 11:39

When the Night Mail's ready to depart

Saying, Skimble, where is Skimble?

Has he gone to hunt the thimble?

We must find him or the train can't start

All the guards and all the porters

And the station master's daughters

Would be searching high and low

Sayin, Skimble, where is Skimble?

For unless he's very nimble

Then the Night Mail just won't go

At 11:42 with the signal overdue

And the passengers all frantic to a man

That's when I would appear

And I'd saunter to the rear

I've been busy in the luggage van

Then he gave one flash of his glass-green eyes

And the signal went all clear

They'd be off at last

To the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat

The cat of the Railway Train

You could say that by and large

It was me who was in charge

Of the Sleeping Car Express

From the driver and the guards

To the bagmen playing cards

I would supervise them all more or less

Down the corridor, he paces

And examines all the faces

Of the travelers in the first and the third

He established his control by a regular patrol

And he'd know at once if anything occurred

He would watch you without winking

And he knows what you are thinking

And it's certain that he didn't approve

Of hilarity and riot, so the folk were very quiet

When Skimble was about and on the move

You could play no pranks with Skimbleshanks

He's a cat that cannot be ignored

So nothing went wrong on the Northern Mail

When Skimbleshanks was aboard

It was very pleasant when they'd found their little den

With their name written up on the door

And the berth was very neat

With a newly folded sheet

And not a speck of dust on the floor

There was every sort of light

You could make it dark or bright

And a button you could turn to make a breeze

And a funny little basin

You're supposed to wash your face in

And a crank to shut the window should you sneeze

Then the guard looked in politely

And would ask you very brightly

Do you like your morning tea?

Weak or strong?

But I was just behind him

And was ready to remind him

For Skimble won't let anything go wrong

When they crept into their cosy bus

And pulled up the counterpane

They all could reflect it was very nice

To know that they wouldn't be bothered by mice

They could leave all that to the railway cat

The cat of the Railway Train

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat

The cat of the Railway Train

In the watches of the night

I was always fresh and bright

Every now and then I'd have a cup of tea

With perhaps a drop of scotch

While I was keeping on the watch

Only stopping here and there to catch a flea

They were fast asleep at Crewe

And so they never knew

That I was walking up and down the station

They were sleeping all the while

I was busy at Carlisle

Where I met the stationmaster with elation

They might see me at Dumfries

If I summoned the police

If there was anything they ought to know about

When they got to Gallowgate

There they did not have to wait

For Skimbleshanks would help them to get out

And he gives you a wave of his long brown tail

Which says, I'll see you again

You'll meet me without fail on the Midnight Mail

The cat of the Railway Train