Get Lyrical: Angela Perley & The Howlin' Moons' "Black Cat"
posted in: Features
Ever notice how every month seems to stand for, like, twenty arbitrary holidays? For example, September is Mold Awareness Month, and March is National Frozen Food month. Well, for those who don’t know, June just so happens to be Adopt A Cat month. (It’s also Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome Awareness month and Country Cooking Month, in case you feel like getting festive but aren’t into the whole feline thing.) We love our cats, and we’re pretty sure you OurStagers do too, so this week on Get Lyrical we’re taking a look at the track Black Cat from Angela Perley and the Howlin’ Moons.
Black Cat was inspired by Perley’s first pet, a black cat (duh) named Pewter. The human and feline pair grew up together, and she remembers chasing him around and attempting to pick him up when he was almost bigger than she was. But unfortunately, the Ohio-based singer-songwriter didn’t pen Black Cat after a day filled with running and playing; instead, it was written the night after Pewter died. The lyrics came to me all in a stream of tears and were a way of remembering not only Pewter but a magical, carefree time in my life, she says.
The song opens in melancholy fashion, with Perley crooning,Black cat, lost friend… How you been? It’s heartbreaking when she calls Pewter a human in disguise, because it so often can feel like our pets really understand us. But while it’s clear that Perley misses her pet, lines like We used to play in the dark/lie in the grass underneath the stars make the song more about her fond memories of Pewter than his passing. And she has plenty of fond memories of him: Growing up as an only child I would always incorporate Pewter into my games and plays and make him characters in my fantasy world, she says. This sometimes involved trying to dress him up and make garden flower headbands for him.
Things get a little nostalgic on the song’s wistful chorus” Oh, to go back in time/childhood friend of mine”and that’s probably because Perley is fascinated by generations past, especially the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s. I think that many of the songs I write seem to be written in the past or about the past, she says. I don’t intentionally do it, but I do notice after songs come to me that they often reflect bygone days and memories. But despite her yearnings for the past, the song is more a celebration of Pewter’s life than a lament of his passing. And while the death of a furry companion is never easy, at least Perley has another feline friend keeping her company”her cat Olive is 24 years old!
Check out the sepia-toned, old-timey video for Black Cat below, because we all need songs like this to let us know that we’re not the only ones who really love our pets.