Mean-Eyed Cat: Difference between revisions

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The song was recorded by Cash at [[Sun Records]] on July 30, 1955.<ref name="Smith1999" /> Sun released as a [[single (music)|single]] (Sun 347, with "Port of Lonely Hearts" on the opposite side)<ref name="Foundation1974">{{cite book|author=John Edwards Memorial Foundation|title=JEMF Quarterly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yh7aAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+Of+Lonely+Hearts%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=1974|publisher=John Edwards Memorial Foundation}}</ref><ref name="Whitburn2002 and 2005">{{cite book|author=Joel Whitburn|title=Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZszAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=2002|publisher=Record Research|isbn=978-0-89820-151-2}}<br>{{cite book|author=Joel Whitburn|title=Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OC4KAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=2005|publisher=Record Research|isbn=978-0-89820-165-9}}</ref><ref name="Neely2004">{{cite book|author=Tim Neely|title=Goldmine Records & Prices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fuIXAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+of+Lonely+Hearts%22+%22Sun+347%22|date=2004-05-01|publisher=Krause Publications|isbn=978-0-87349-781-7}}</ref><ref name="EscottHawkins1980">{{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Martin Hawkins|title=Sun Records: The Brief History of the Legendary Recording Label|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XgUwAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+of+Lonely+Hearts%22|year=1980|publisher=Quick Fox|isbn=978-0-8256-3161-0}}</ref><ref name="Albert1984">{{cite book|author=George Albert|title=The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t5BHAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Sun+347%22|date=1984-01-01|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-1685-5}}</ref> in October<ref name="Lewry2001">{{cite book|author=Peter Lewry|title=I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocQK9YBdRhkC&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+of+Lonely+Hearts%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=2001|publisher=Helter Skelter|isbn=978-1-900924-22-1}}</ref> or December 1959,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Johnny Cash Record Catalog|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ihbEBcJEx4C&pg=PA21&dq=%22Sun+334%22|year=1994|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-29506-5|pages=21–}}</ref> when Cash had already left the label for [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
The song was recorded by Cash at [[Sun Records]] on July 30, 1955.<ref name="Smith1999" /> Sun released as a [[single (music)|single]] (Sun 347, with "Port of Lonely Hearts" on the opposite side)<ref name="Foundation1974">{{cite book|author=John Edwards Memorial Foundation|title=JEMF Quarterly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yh7aAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+Of+Lonely+Hearts%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=1974|publisher=John Edwards Memorial Foundation}}</ref><ref name="Whitburn2002 and 2005">{{cite book|author=Joel Whitburn|title=Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZszAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=2002|publisher=Record Research|isbn=978-0-89820-151-2}}<br>{{cite book|author=Joel Whitburn|title=Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OC4KAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=2005|publisher=Record Research|isbn=978-0-89820-165-9}}</ref><ref name="Neely2004">{{cite book|author=Tim Neely|title=Goldmine Records & Prices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fuIXAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+of+Lonely+Hearts%22+%22Sun+347%22|date=2004-05-01|publisher=Krause Publications|isbn=978-0-87349-781-7}}</ref><ref name="EscottHawkins1980">{{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Martin Hawkins|title=Sun Records: The Brief History of the Legendary Recording Label|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XgUwAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+of+Lonely+Hearts%22|year=1980|publisher=Quick Fox|isbn=978-0-8256-3161-0}}</ref><ref name="Albert1984">{{cite book|author=George Albert|title=The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t5BHAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Sun+347%22|date=1984-01-01|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-1685-5}}</ref> in October<ref name="Lewry2001">{{cite book|author=Peter Lewry|title=I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocQK9YBdRhkC&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+of+Lonely+Hearts%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=2001|publisher=Helter Skelter|isbn=978-1-900924-22-1}}</ref> or December 1959,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Johnny Cash Record Catalog|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ihbEBcJEx4C&pg=PA21&dq=%22Sun+334%22|year=1994|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-29506-5|pages=21–}}</ref> when Cash had already left the label for [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]

== Composition ==
{{quote|"Mean Eyed Cat" is an all-out rockabilly rave-up about a fellow who gives his woman money to shop at the general store, just so she can go and spend it on "store-bought cat food for her mean eyed cat." The cat conceit is stretched a bit, since that's the only time it's used in the song. She ultimately leaves him with a "Dear John" note on her pillow as he heads to town to bring her back. Again, the train becomes a symbol of escape and freedom, as the hard-pressed woman catches an eastbound train.|source=John M. Alexander. ''The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash''<ref name="Alexander2018 (page 29)">{{cite book|author=John M. Alexander|title=The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CJlHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29&dq=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22|date=16 April 2018|publisher=University of Arkansas Press|isbn=978-1-61075-628-0|pages=41–}}</ref>}}


== Charts ==
== Charts ==

Revision as of 02:42, 26 January 2019

"Mean-Eyed Cat"
Single by Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two
A-side"Mean Eyed Cat"
"Port of Lonely Hearts"
Released1960 (1960)
Genrecountry
LabelSun 347
Songwriter(s)Johnny Cash[1]
Music video
"Mean-Eyed Cat" (audio only) on YouTube

"Mean-Eyed Cat" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.[2][3]

The song was recorded by Cash at Sun Records on July 30, 1955.[2] Sun released as a single (Sun 347, with "Port of Lonely Hearts" on the opposite side)[4][5][6][7][8] in October[9] or December 1959,[10] when Cash had already left the label for Columbia

Composition

"Mean Eyed Cat" is an all-out rockabilly rave-up about a fellow who gives his woman money to shop at the general store, just so she can go and spend it on "store-bought cat food for her mean eyed cat." The cat conceit is stretched a bit, since that's the only time it's used in the song. She ultimately leaves him with a "Dear John" note on her pillow as he heads to town to bring her back. Again, the train becomes a symbol of escape and freedom, as the hard-pressed woman catches an eastbound train.

— John M. Alexander. The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash[11]

Charts

Chart (1960) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[12] 30

References

  1. ^ "Mean Eyed Cat / Port Of Lonely Hearts". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  2. ^ a b John L. Smith (1 January 1999). Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-3629-7.
  3. ^ "Cover versions of Mean Eyed Cat by Johnny Cash". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  4. ^ John Edwards Memorial Foundation (1974). JEMF Quarterly. John Edwards Memorial Foundation.
  5. ^ Joel Whitburn (2002). Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-151-2.
    Joel Whitburn (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-165-9.
  6. ^ Tim Neely (2004-05-01). Goldmine Records & Prices. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-781-7.
  7. ^ Colin Escott; Martin Hawkins (1980). Sun Records: The Brief History of the Legendary Recording Label. Quick Fox. ISBN 978-0-8256-3161-0.
  8. ^ George Albert (1984-01-01). The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1685-5.
  9. ^ Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. ISBN 978-1-900924-22-1.
  10. ^ The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. pp. 21–. ISBN 978-0-313-29506-5.
  11. ^ John M. Alexander (16 April 2018). The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 41–. ISBN 978-1-61075-628-0.
  12. ^ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
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