Copy Cat - Lyrics

Lyrics
1

Sure, here’s my stab at it:

Lyrics

From a meow to a roar
Uh roof

Hey
Yakety Yak
Uh, bring in the dog
Let’s put out the cat, baba

Yeah

Oh yeah, this is Puss in Boots (She come to scratch your back)
And uh, I might be finicky but uh, I [mean this up] baby (She come to scratch your back)

So uh, go cool off ma
Ow, what time it is ba (She come to scratch your back)

Do y’all copy? (She come to scratch your back)
Uh, roger over and out, ten-four, over and out (She come to scratch your back)

Yeah

Tom cat
Fritz the cat
They all try to cop my meow

Meow, meow, meow, meow
Meow, meow, meow, me-ow

They imitate, they duplicate
But they can’t copy my meow

Meow, meow, meow, meow
Meow, meow, meow, me-ow

Tom
You’re a pussy cat

Bob
[You’re] a pussy cat

Fritz
You’re a pussy cat

Morris
Wants my pussy cat

Scratch your back
She’ll scratch your back
Ah-ah-ah ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah

From the doggy-doggy
I’ll climb a tree

I scratch your back
[The] cat in me

So they tie tin cans to my tail, ah-ah ah-a
Like a litter box, ya smell

Imitation, duplication
Never copy my meow

Meow, meow, meow, meow
Meow, meow, meow, meow

Uh, is this song about cats?
Cause I’m a kitty cat fishin’ for catfish, baba
Oh no, my word
Ah help, look out baba

Do do-do-do-doo, do-do-doo

Cool cat
Not to be confused with Cadillacs

A catastrophic
Not to be confused with cataleptic

Cat walk
Not to be confused with cat burglar

Catnip
Not to be confused with cat nap (Simply purr-fect)

Ketchup
Not to be confused with tomato sauce (Purr-fect)

Yeah, this is a song about cats (Simply purr-fect)
Wild cats, po’ cats and alley cats
Siamese, Persian (Purr-fect)
And I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat

Cats that purr (Simply purr-fect)
Prowl, stalk and roar
Oh, leos and leopards (Purr-fect)

Imitate, duplicate
They copy my meow

Mrow
Cheetahs (Simply purr-fect)

Imitate, duplicate
They can never copy meow

[G.C.]
Simply purr-fect

Purr-fect
Simply purr-fect

Come to scratch your back
She come to scratch your back

Imitate, duplicate
They all wanna cop my meow

Meow, meow, meow, meow
Meow, meow, me-ow

Why must I feel like that
Why must I scratch your back
Nothing but the cat in me

Why must I feel like that
Why must I cop the cat
Nothing but the scratch in me

Purr-fect
Simply purr-fect

Purr-fect
Simply purr-r-r-fect

Meow, meow, meow, meow
Meow, meow, meow, meow
Meow, meow, meow, meow
Meow, meow, meow, me-ow

When she come to scratch your back
Imitate, duplicate

Do do-doo, do-do-do
They all wanna cop my meow

Meow, meow, meow, meow
Meow, meow, me

Purr-fect
Simply purr-fect

Meow, meow, meow, meow
Meow, meow, meow, meow

You are–
Purr-fect (Come scratch me on my back)
Simply purr-fect (Come scratch me with your tongue)

We come to scratch your back
Oh, yeah, on time

Purr-fect (Everybody)
Simply purr-fect (Oh, baby)

Oh-oh
Ooo-ooo
Aw, yeah

You are–
Purr-fect (You-ooo-ooo)
Simply purr-fect (Baby)

We come to scratch your back (Yeah)

Aw

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Legend :metal::metal::metal::metal::metal:

Love that song. So many main ingredients :grinning:

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Yep, a solid song. I never registered the part at 1:43, where I think the fishing cat falls in.

Also for the sake of completion, I’ll mention the Prince/Morris Day/The Time “rebuttal”, Tricky, which sounds to me like it references Copy Cat and Pumpin’ It Up.

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That is a definite and hilarious diss record. I think Bootsy may be getting a few digs, too.

I’d heard a similar tune by Prince and Morris where I’d assumed - or I read something or someone told me -Prince was ripping on George’s voice but this is great. Thank you for sharing. :+1::+1:

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https://princevault.com/index.php?title=Tricky

Tricky

Icecreamcastles single.jpg100x100
single art for Ice Cream Castles
Song details
Performer: The Time
First Released: 30 May 1984 - Ice Cream Castles single
Album(s): None
Writer(s): Prince and Morris Day(credited to Morris Day)
Producer(s): Prince (credited to Morris Day and The Starr Company)
Live Appearances
First and last live appearance:

Tricky was released as the b-side of Ice Cream Castles, the first single from The Time’s third album, Ice Cream Castle. It was also included on some versions of the album’s third single, Jungle Love. Tricky was written by Prince and Morris Day, but credited to Morris Day only. It was co-produced by Morris Day and Prince under the name The Starr Company.

Basic tracking took place on 12 January 1984 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California (as un unnamed track initially), during sessions that yielded material for the Ice Cream Castle album. The bass and drum parts were very similar to another jam that Prince recorded with Morris Day on drums, Cloreen Bacon Skin, which was tracked in March 1983 but released in 1998, and with which it even shares some lyrics.

Tricky was written about George Clinton (with whom Prince would work starting in 1988) and Bootsy Collins. The track was recorded as a response to P-Funk All-Stars’song Copy Cat (from their 1983 album Urban Dancefloor Guerillas) which contains a couple of lines directed against Morris Day.

Cloreen Baconskin from the unreleased Crystal Ball was the version I’d heard. Prince freaks will also recognise the base and drums from irresistible bitch.

Yakety yak my ass mutherfucker :joy:

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I understand “Tricky” may contain some veiled references to GC and/or Boot (and even that’s never been verified). However, I see no references to Morris Day in the lyrics of “Copy Cat.” The ‘Morris’ referenced in these lyrics refers to “Morris the Cat” from the 9 Lives catfood commercials which were very popular in the USA at the time of the song’s release.

See here:

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I have to say that until Chris had a stab at the lyrics I had assumed that rather than ‘Fritz’ (the cat) and Morris (a cat I’d never heard of until I googled) it was ‘Prince’ and ‘Morris’ that were being cat called. It seemed to fit the song very well - imitate duplicate etc.

Maybe Prince and Morris assumed the same thing. The response for whatever reason appears to be aimed squarely at George and Bootsy. Maybe their hearing/audio was as bad as mine.

1, 2, 3, 4
Why you big, tossed-salad, hairdo-havin’, long, tall, snaggly gold-toothed,
funkin’ habit-formed, leather-wearin’, beanpole-lookin’, black

Shit! Oh! Somebody bring me a piece of chicken! Nawwww

What-what Tricky say? What Tricky say? Yakety-yak?
Yakety-yak, my ass, muthafucka, Uh!

George if we are to assume he is indeed the object of their piss take is the Michellin Man who needs to re-tire (I’m going to assume pun is deliberate) cause he’s old (and fat).

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Morris Day stated that Tricky was a “rebuttal” to Copy Cat on the Questlove Supreme podcast (23 June 2021, 1:04:58 - 1:09:05).

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-questlove-supreme-53194211/episode/morris-day-84011206

Morris Day said, “‘Toss-salad hairdo-havin’ was Bootsy. The ‘Michelin Man’, that was George Clinton. So we went in and had a field day as a rebuttal to them talkin’ shit about us.” He also said that he thought Copy Cat was a diss because The Time song Get It Up had a “Parliament-Funkadelic groove."

lol, I hope so. I also like the touch of the tire deflating sound effect halfway through (yeah I know it’s actually flushing water, but I think it’s supposed to sound like a tire). Quite the opposite of “Pumpin’ It Up”. (Also, is the flush at the end supposed to be a reference to Roto Rooter?)

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With due respect to Morris, he (and Prince - assuming Morris is being truthful) was reaching. I hear absolutely no digs at them in the lyrics of “Copy Cat.” Not directly anyway. I understand they were having a go at George and Bootsy on “Tricky,” but if it was in reply to something they assumed about the lyrics of “Copy Cat,” I’m not buying it. I honestly don’t believe George was thinking of them (or any one specific band or performer) on “Copy Cat.” But that’s just me…

Here’s a classic episode of Fritz the Cat from the early 70s.

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What time it is/What time is it. Fritz sounding like Prince.

Morris sounding like, er Morris.

In a song about copy cats by George, a man who has form for being catty and swiping a (south) paw at the opposition.

I reckon it was the litter box dig that pushed Morris over the edge.

On balance, I think you’re probably right. I’m not convinced that any of this is evidence of a pop at either Prince or Morris.

I wonder if it was easily bruised young egos misunderstanding. Maybe they just wanted to have a pop. Young Turks showing no respect. Maybe they just thought it was gas - it is pretty funny.

Reminds me a bit of the Gloryhallostupid cover being Rick James. That’s probably bollicks too but, good to chat and laugh about

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On another note, thanks @ChrisB for your effort on this.

Where you hear

Why must I feel like that
Why must I cop the cat
Nothing but distracting me

I always heard, “Why must I feel like that? Why must I copy cat? Nothin’ but the scratch in me…”

Anyone else?

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It’s pretty close, but I think you’re right; upon careful listening I hear a “-ch”, rather than a “-t”.

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Its actually

Catastrophic, not to be confused with catalytic

I think.

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