Nine Lives

Lyrics

[Intro]
(a slow blink, a purr that's almost a bass note)
The ears. That's it. That's the costume.

[Verse 1]
Every year there's twelve of them and every year it's fine,
'cause the cat is not a costume, it's a costume-shaped decline —
it's the ears you keep in a drawer for the years you didn't plan,
it's the "I forgot it's Halloween" of every woman and man.
And there's no shame in it! There's honestly no shame!
The cat has saved more evenings than the rest of them combined!

[Chorus]
Nine lives, honey, nine lives —
that's nine Halloweens you got out of one pair of ears!
Nine lives! Curiosity!
It killed the cat but honey, look, the cat came back for me!
Nine lives. Nine lives.
Land on your feet and do it all again.

[Verse 2]
Now curiosity is famous for the damage that it does,
but nobody ever quotes the part that comes after because
the whole entire saying is "curiosity killed the cat —
BUT satisfaction brought it back," and they never say that part.
They just leave it at the killing 'cause the killing's what they want.
The satisfaction's the whole point. The satisfaction's what you've got.

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
Nine lives isn't nine chances. Nine lives is nine tries
at the same exact evening with a slightly different guise.
The ears in the drawer. The ears in the drawer.
The most reliable costume anybody ever wore.
And if you land wrong — and you will, and you have —
you get up, you shake it off, and there's eight of them left.

[Chorus]

[Outro]
(a stretch, a yawn, the purr fading)
Ears back in the drawer.
See you next year.
Same drawer.