The Old Gumbie Cat

The Old Gumbie Cat is the first musical number in the show to feature on one individual character, Jennyanydots. The Gumbie Cat sees other characters dressing up as mice and cockroaches to play along with telling her story. Munkustrap narrates her daytime life of sitting quietly, while Bombalurina, Demeter and Jellylorum describe how busy she is at night.

Video
The 1998 video unfortunately has significant cuts to this number, resulting in a lot of missing choreography and characters apparently jumping in out of nowhere.

Lyrics
I have a Gumbie Cat in mind.

Her name is Jennyanydots.

Her coat is of the tabby kind with tiger stripes and leopard spots.

All day she sits beneath the stairs or on the steps or on the mat.

She sits and sits and sits and that's what makes a gumbie cat.

That's what makes a Gumbie Cat.

But. ..

When the day's hustle and bustle is done

Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun.

And when all the family's in bed and asleep,

She tucks up her skirts to the basement to creep.

She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice:

Their behaviour's not good and their manners not nice.

So when she has got them lined up on the matting,

She teaches them music, crocheting and tatting.

I have a Gumbie Cat in mind.

Her name is Jennyanydots.

The curtain cord she likes to wind and tie it into sailor knots.

She sits upon the windowsill or anything that's smooth and flat.

She sits and sits and sits and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat.

That's what makes a Gumbie Cat.

But. ..

When the day's hustle and bustle is done

Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun.

She thinks that the cockroaches "Just need employment

To prevent them from idle and wanton destroyment"

So she's formed from that lot of disorderly louts

A troop of well-disciplined helpful boy scouts

With a purpose in life and a good deed to do.

And she's even created a beetles tattoo!

For she's a jolly good fellow!

Thank you my dears. ..