The Intoxicated Rat: Lyrics

Dorsey Dixon/J.E. Mainer (though Dr. Logsdon disagrees)

• LP: Traditional Songs of the Old West
• LP: Hard Travelin'
• CD: The Folkways Years

Well the other night when I come home,
As drunk as I could be
I got tangled up in the old doormat
Fell flat as I could be
Well I had me a little old bottle of rum
And I didn't have any more
And the cap flew off when I went down
And I spilled it in the floor

Then a rat came out from his hiding place
And he got that whiskey scent
And he ran right up and got a little shot
And back to his hole he went
Back to his hole he went
Right back to his hole he went
He ran right up and got a little shot
And back to his hole he went

Then the rat come out of his hole once more
Sidled up to the rum on the floor
He was a little bit shy
But he winked one eye
And then he got him a little bit more
And he didn't go back to his hole that time
But he stayed by the puddle of gin
And he said "Doggone my pop-eyed soul,
I'm gonna get drunk again!"
And he didn't go back to his hole
He said, "Doggone my soul, I'm only a rat
But a doggone cat can't run me back to my hole."

Well he washed his face with his front feet
And on his hind legs he sat
With a twisted smile and a half-closed eye
Said, "Where's that doggone cat?"
And he didn't go back to his hole
But he said, "Doggone my soul, I'm only a rat
But a doggone cat can't run me back to my hole."

Well his little old eyes begin to shine
And he lapped up more and more
And it made me glad that I had stumbled
And spilled it on the floor
But soon the puddle of rum was gone
And I didn't have any more gin
And the little old rat was a-having a time
And the old tom cat come in

Well the cat made a pass
And the rat made a dash
His boldness faded thin
The cat jumped over
And the rat got sober
And back to his hole again
Ran back to his hole again
Ran back to his hole again
Well, that cat jumped over
And the rat got sober
And back to his hole again

Of note:

Called "The Intoxicated Rat" on the CCD, Hard Travelin' shows it as "The Drunken Rat." Either way, the saga of the inebriated rodent is another superlative performance, a tale told with enough self-deprecating humor that we enjoy it without thinking the performer a buffoon. Like The Strawberry Roan and Talking Guitar Blues, Cisco unravels a lengthy tale with enough poetry to disguise the rather profound philosophy buried in its two minutes. A great song, wonderfully done.

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