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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
I had a cat, the cat pleased me,
I fed my cat by yonder tree,
The cat went fiddle-ie-dee.
I had a hen, the hen pleased me,
I fed my hen by yonder tree,
The hen went chimy-chuck, chimy-chuck,
The cat went fiddle-ie-dee.
I had a duck, the duck pleased me,
I fed my duck by yonder tree,
The duck went quack, quack, quack,
The hen went chimy-chuck, chimy-chuck,
The cat went fiddle-ie-dee.
I had a goose, the goose pleased me,
I fed my goose by yonder tree,
The goose went swishy-swashy,
The duck went quack, quack, quack,
The hen went chimy-chuck, chimy-chuck,
The cat went fiddle-ie-dee.
I had a pig, the pig pleased me,
I fed my pig by yonder tree,
The pig went drippy droppy,
The goose went swishy-swashy,
The duck went quack, quack, quack,
The hen went chimy-chuck, chimy-chuck,
The cat went fiddle-ie-dee.
I had a sheep, the sheep pleased me,
I fed my sheep by yonder tree,
The sheep went bah, bah, bah,
The pig went drippy droppy,
The goose went swishy-swashy,
The duck went quack, quack, quack,
The hen went chimy-chuck, chimy-chuck,
The cat went fiddle-ie-dee.
I had a cow, the cow pleased me,
I fed my cow by yonder tree,
The cow went moo, moo, moo,
The sheep went bah, bah, bah,
The pig went drippy droppy,
The goose went swishy-swashy,
The duck went quack, quack, quack,
The hen went chimy-chuck, chimy-chuck,
The cat went fiddle-ie-dee.
I had a turkey, the turkey pleased me,
I fed my turkey by yonder tree,
The turkey went gibble-gibble-gobble,
The cow went moo, moo, moo,
The sheep went bah, bah, bah,
The pig went drippy droppy,
The goose went swishy-swashy,
The duck went quack, quack, quack,
The hen went chimy-chuck, chimy-chuck,
The cat went fiddle-ie-dee.
I had a rooster, the rooster pleased me,
I fed my rooster by yonder tree,
The rooster went cock-a-doodle-doo,
The turkey went gibble-gibble-gobble,
The cow went moo, moo, moo,
The sheep went bah, bah, bah,
The pig went drippy droppy,
The goose went swishy-swashy,
The duck went quack, quack, quack,
The hen went chimy-chuck, chimy-chuck,
The cat went fiddle-ie-dee.
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"I Had a Cat" is a cumulative folk song in the tradition of songs like "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and "The Twelve Days of Christmas", where each new verse introduces a fresh element while requiring the singer to repeat all previous elements in reverse order. The result is a song that grows longer and more demanding with every verse, testing memory and musical stamina in equal measure.
The song belongs to a European tradition of cumulative farmyard songs, and versions exist in many languages. The English version is built around an unusual collection of animal sounds — "fiddle-ie-dee" for the cat, "chimy-chuck" for the hen, "swishy-swashy" for the goose — many of which are not literal representations of the animals' sounds but rather playful phonetic inventions that have the quality of old dialect words.
The farmyard setting, with each animal fed by the same yonder tree, creates a pleasingly timeless pastoral scene. The cumulative structure means the song rewards practice: younger children can start by echoing just the newest animal, while older singers attempt to carry the whole long chain without losing their place.
Our arrangement keeps all the animals in play, building delightfully to the final verse where the list of sounds has grown to a satisfying barnyard cacophony.
