FAWM: "Cat In Gloves"

Cat In Gloves

2025 by @motorcitymusicman

There is no demo for this song.

Liner Notes

It's a tough time to be an idealist these days. Thinking about current events led me to this song.

Lyrics

Verse One:

When I was young I played a game, some other kids and me I think it was Monopoly; there was no referee One of the kids was cheating, stealing money from the bank I made the accusation; he dismissed it as a prank That night I told my uncle and complained that I had lost To my surprise he said “Success means win at any cost.” He said

Chorus:

A cat in gloves will catch no mice You’ll never win by playing nice Obey the rules, you’ll pay the price It’s far too much to sacrifice Don’t be a fool, take my advice A cat in gloves will catch no mice

Verse Two:

The other night some friends and I were drinking at a bar When I recognized a colleague’s face, I caught it from afar He was getting hot and heavy with a woman not his wife The wife he said had always been the center of his life I moved to intercept him when he rose to get a drink I asked “what are you going?” and he gave a little wink And said

[repeat chorus]

Bridge:

It seems to me that only love Would cause a cat to wear a glove But everybody’s claws are out And everyone gets scratches It doesn’t have to be this way That’s why you’ll never hear me say

[repeat chorus]

Comments

@wildrainbow 2025

Ouch! So much truth in this - lyrics are brilliant and very, very sad. I loved the first verse - and the comparison with a cat in a glove is sheer genius. Glad that #tit4tat brought me here.

@ambroise 2025

I love the sory and the outraged righteousness. I often feel as a clawless kitten.

Fun fact, I seems that when they are not barefoot, the cats just go berserk. I heard they need to feel the ground for security. Here's one example : Or made they are ethical living beings after all ?

Fun fact 2 (I'm turning Ted Mosby, someone help me ! ) The inspiration for Monopoly if an education game against the risks of unfair capitalism : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Landlord%27s_Game

@nadine 2025

Interesting metaphor cat with gloves. I still hate Monopoly xD The bridge is great! #tit4tat

@opossum 2025

This is brilliant! You give such detailed and reasonable examples of how playing by the rules will often result in you being f@$ked! And I just love, Love, LOVE the cat in gloves as a metaphor for that! And I wanna be an idealist too but I/we keep losing to monsters! Monsters who operate according to the laws of the jungle (and win)! I thought we were better than this. But back to your lyrics, that bridge is so Very Excellent! "everybody’s claws are out" indeed! And I don't quite know what to do with that wee bit of hope you present. "only love Would cause a cat to wear a glove". That is accurate but his love will cause him to starve, no? Anyway, these are some mighty fine lyrics and I hope we figure out a way forward very soon even if we have to take the gloves off! Thanks for writing this! #tit4tat

@greengrassgirl 2025

I like this a lot. My favorite part is the Bridge. I admire how you drew your inspiration for this from current events, yet didn't make it overtly political. That's a real talent.

@cjk 2025

Again, great and sadly too true lyrics. Impressive chorus.

@tawny249 2025

This is really well-crafted. Solid rhythm, and the bridge hits really hard. "Everybody's claws are out/And everyone gets scratches" is so sad but true. Clear pictures of scenes, too - that's hard to do without sounding wordy, and you did it. What a good write!