Old Deuteronomy
Old Deuteronomy
Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time
He's a cat who has lived many lives in succession
He was famous in proverb and famous in rhyme
A long while before Queen Victoria's accession
Old Deuteronomy's buried nine wives
And more I am tempted to say ninety-nine
And his numerous progeny prospers and thrives
And the village is proud of him in his decline
At the sight of that placid and bland physiognomy
When he sits in the sun on the vicarage wall
The oldest inhabitant croaks,
"Well of all things! Can it be, really!
Yes...No...Ho...Hi Oh my eye!
My mind may be wandering but I confess
I believe it is Old Deuteronomy"
Old Deuteronomy sits in the street
He sits in the High Street on market day
The Bullocks may bellow, the sheep they may bleat
But the dogs and the herdsmen will turn them away
The cars and the lorries run over the curb
And the villagers put up a notice: "ROAD CLOSED"
So that nothing untoward may chance to disturb
Deuteronomy's rest when he feels so disposed
The digestive repose of that feline's gastronomy
Must never be broken, whatever befall
And the oldest inhabitant croaks,
"Well of all things! Can it be, really!
Yes...No...Ho...Hi! Oh my eye!
My mind may be wandering but I confess
I believe it is Old Deuteronomy"
Well of all things! Can it be, really!
Yes...No...Ho...Hi! Oh my eye!
My mind may be wandering but I confess
I believe it is Old Deuteronomy
Well of all things! Can it be, really!
Yes...No...Ho...Hi! Oh my eye!
My mind may be wandering but I confess
I believe it is Old Deuteronomy
Well of all things!Can it be, really!
Yes...No...Ho...Hi! Oh my eye!
My legs may be tottery, I must go slow
And be careful of Old Deuteronomy
Some photos scanned from
CATS: The Book of the Musical
Old Deuteronomy
available on
Cats: the complete original Broadway cast recording
Brian Blessed originated the role of Old Deuteronomy in London in 1981. Ken Page was the first to play OD on Broadway and also portrayed him in the video. Jimmy Lockett was the last to play the role on Broadway; I was lucky enough to see him on March 29, 2000.
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Cats the musical & cast photos © copyright The Really Useful Group Ltd.
Musical score by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Lyrics based on
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
by T.S. Eliot, additional words by Trevor Nunn & Richard Stilgoe
Meditative Cat graphics & all text descriptions © copyright 2000-2005 Catresea Ann Canivan
