Three Sheets to Kishkiyya · Track 79 · middle

Kater

VOLUME IV — the HUNGOVER morning after. The idiom and the song's title hook: "Kater". Its true history: Germany, student slang ~1850 — literally 'tomcat'; the yowling, miserable cat-state; bluesy. Render this beat of the night as the band's affectionate, funny, celebratory tribute — the idiom itself is the chorus hook.

Lyrics

[Intro]
Sun coming up like a yellow-eyed beast,
Staring right through the bedroom blind.
Left my good sense at a midnight feast,
And the landlord's pounding inside my mind.
Poured a cup of the yesterday's brew,
Black and bitter and cold as rain.
Lord, I'm feeling it, how about you?
Got a furry little passenger aboard the brain.

[Chorus]
Oh, I got the Kater.
The heavy-headed Kater.
Yowling at the window of the morning light.
Just a big old tomcat scratching at the plaster,
Paying the tab for a beautiful night.
Yeah, the Kater's moved in today.

[Verse 2]
Back in 1850, some German boys knew,
Swinging their steins in the campus pub.
When the tavern went dark and the whistle blew,
They'd wake up raw to the tomcat's rub.
They didn't call it a sickness or sin,
Just student slang for the feline blues.
You let the wandering animal in,
Now he's sleeping right on top of your walking shoes.

[Chorus]
'Cause I got the Kater.
The heavy-headed Kater.
Yowling at the window of the morning light.
Just a big old tomcat scratching at the plaster,
Paying the tab for a beautiful night.
Yeah, the Kater's moved in today.

[Bridge]
You can't shoo him out with a broom or a shout,
He demands a little bacon and a greasy egg.
He's the king of the house, there isn't a doubt,
Just purring right here on my aching leg.

[Outro]
So pour me another cold cup.
We'll just sit here, me and the cat.
Good boy.
Takes a long time for the sun to drop back down behind the trees.