Gus The Theatre Cat

song : gus : the theatre cat artist : andrew lloyd webber from the musical , cats D ( 4 bars ) Gmaj7 D/F# F#7 Bm gus is the cat at the theatre door Em7 A Dsus2 D his name as i ought to have told you before Gmaj7 D/F# F#7 Bm is really asparagus , but that’s such a fuss G - - F#m7 - - Em9 - - G/A G D to pronounce that we usually call him just gus Gmaj7 D/F# F#7 Bm his coat’s very shabby . he’s thin as a rake Em7 A Dsus2 D and he suffers from palsy that makes his paw shake Gmaj7 D/F# F#7 Bm yet he was in his youth quite the smartest of cats G - - F#m7 - - Em9 - - G/A G D but no longer a terror to mice and to rats G D/F# Em7 D/F# for he isn’t the cat that he was in his prime G D F#7 Bm though his name was quite famous , he says , in his time G D/F# Em7 D/F# and whenever he joins his friends at their club G D F#7 Bm ( which takes place at the back of the neighbouring pub ) Em7 A Dsus2 D he loves to regale them if someone else pays Em7 A Dsus2 D with anecdotes drawn from his palmiest days G D/F# Em7 D/F# for he once was a star of the highest degree G D/F# F#7 Bm he has acted with irving , he’s acted with tree G D/F# Em7 D/F# and he likes to relate his success on the halls G D/F# F#7 Bm where the gallery once gave him seven catcalls G - - F#m7 - - Em9 - - G/A Bm Bm but his grandest creation as he loves to tell Em7 - - F#m7 - - Gmaj7 - - G/A Csus2 G D was firefrorefiddle , the fiend of the fell Gmaj7 D/F# F#7 Bm "i have played , in my time , every possible part Em7 A Dsus2 D and i used to know seventy speeches by heart Gmaj7 D/F# F#7 Bm i’d extemporize backchat . i knew how to gag G - - F#m7 - - Em9 - - G/A G D and i knew how to let the cat out of the bag Gmaj7 D/F# F#7 Bm i knew how to act with my back and my tail Em7 A Dsus2 D with an hour of rehearsal , i never could fail Gmaj7 D/F# F#7 Bm i’d a voice that would soften the hardest of hearts G - - F#m7 - Em9 - G/A G D whether i took the lead , or in character parts G D/F# Em7 D/F# i have sat by the bedside of poor little nell G D/F# F#7 Bm when the curfew was rung then i swung on the bell G D/F# Em7 D/F# in the pantomime season i never fell flat G D/F# F#7 Bm and i once understudied dick whittington’s cat G - - F#m7 - - Em9 - - G/A Bm Bm but my grandest creation as history will tell Em7 - - F#m7 - - Gmaj7 - - G/A Csus2 G/B D was firefrorefiddle , the fiend of the fell D D D D C#/A D D then if someone will give him a toothful of gin A7sus/E A7 D D he will tell how he once played a part in east lynne D C#/A D D at a shakespeare performance he once walked on pat D A E7 A when some actor suggested the need for a cat G D/F# Em7 D/F# "and i say now these kittens , they do not get trained G D/F# F#7 Bm as we did in the days when victoria reigned G D/F# Em7 D/F# they never get drilled in a regular troupe G D/F# F#7 Bm and they think they are smart just to jump through a hoop" Em7 A Dsus2 D and he says as he scratches himself with his claws Em7 A Dsus2 D "well , the theatre is certainly not what it was G D/F# Em D/F# these modern productions are all very well G D/F# F#7 B but there’s nothing to equal from what i hear tell G - - F#m7 - - Em9 - - G/A Bm Bm that moment of mystery when i made history Em7 - - F#m7 - - Gmaj6 - G/A Csus2 G as firefrorefiddle , the fiend of the fell" D ( reprise ) "i once crossed the stage on a telegraph wire to rescue a child when a house was on fire and i think that i still can much better than most produce blood - curdling noises to bring on the ghost and i once played growltiger could do it again could do it again could do it again . . . "