Alamo Race Track

Black Cat John Brown

3 Meanings

Add Yours

Q&A

Black Cat John Brown Lyrics

Black cat John Brown, your time will come
Big yellow eyes, full moon is rising
Black cat John Brown, your time will come
Windows and fences, you’ll take no risk

You catch the world, big open eyes
You catch some berries from trees that reach the sky
You'll get older, you can’t catch time
You’ll have a good life and then you'll die

Black cat John Brown, your time will come
Big yellow eyes, full moon is rising
Black cat John Brown, your time will come
Windows and fences, you’ll take no risk

Submitted by

kazk On Feb 10, 2007

Lee J. Cobb is Screaming a Lot

The Northern Territory

Stanley vs. Hannah

The Killing

Short Leave

Lyrics saved successfully! Thanks!

These lyrics are currently locked and can only be edited by moderators and administrators.

You must be logged in to edit lyrics.

Unable to save lyrics. Please try again.

Lyrics cannot contain links.

Lyric edit submitted successfully and is pending approval. Approvals usually take 24 hours.

Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

kazk

Submitter

2007-02-10 05:44:26

3 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Sort by

by janeaparis1

4y ago

According to Wikipedia, John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was an American abolitionist leader who was hanged for his violent insurrection against slavery.
In most Western cultures, black cats have typically been looked upon as a symbol of evil omens. They are also linked to witchcraft with a belief, that witches can transform into black cats
The full moon represents the height of a circlular rythm but is also connected to witchcraft rituals

My Interpretation: John Brown, who is a violent insurgent against slavery (the status-quo at the time) is a "black cat": an unpleasant omen for the ruling white class of changing times and eventually the civil war. Since Brown was himself white but fighting for the rights of the black slaves, the adjective "black" gains another meaning. Further associations are "the black panthers" (panther = cat) and "black sheep". His "big yellow eyes" represent his hope for a brighter future - which is asserted with the words "full moon is rising" (=his time is coming). The image of the big yellow eyes is mirrored in the image of the full moon, signifying that his hopes are not illusory. Now for the next lines I assume one has to have intricate knowledge of Brown's biography. Cats usually jump through windows and over fences but they can also be obstacles that require risk taking. "You catch the world, big open eyes" suggests that 1) he understands the world correctly by being open and receiving (in opposition to being judgemental) and 2) gaining followers for his cause and eventually drawing the "whole world" (here the USA) into his cause (leading to civil war). Catching some "berries from trees that reach the sky" signifies that he accomplishes something extraordinary, truely grand, dignified and/or honorable - which probably refers to his impact in the struggle for human equality. The next line, however, sets a limit to this greatness: he is a cat (human) that gets older (=weaker, less impactful) and eventually dies. He had a positive impact ("a good life") but couldn't "fix" inequality and slavery in his lifetime (which cannot be expected of a single person).

My Interpretation

- According to Wikipedia, John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was an American abolitionist leader who was hanged for his violent insurrection against slavery.
- In most Western cultures, black cats have typically been looked upon as a symbol of evil omens. They are also linked to witchcraft with a belief, that witches can transform into black cats
- The full moon represents the height of a circlular rythm but is also connected to witchcraft rituals
---------------------------------------------------------------------
My Interpretation:
John Brown, who is a violent insurgent against slavery (the status-quo at the time) is a "black cat": an unpleasant omen for the ruling white class of changing times and eventually the civil war. Since Brown was himself white but fighting for the rights of the black slaves, the adjective "black" gains another meaning. Further associations are "the black panthers" (panther = cat) and "black sheep".
His "big yellow eyes" represent his hope for a brighter future - which is asserted with the words "full moon is rising" (=his time is coming). The image of the big yellow eyes is mirrored in the image of the full moon, signifying that his hopes are not illusory.
Now for the next lines I assume one has to have intricate knowledge of Brown's biography. Cats usually jump through windows and over fences but they can also be obstacles that require risk taking.
"You catch the world, big open eyes" suggests that 1) he understands the world correctly by being open and receiving (in opposition to being judgemental) and 2) gaining followers for his cause and eventually drawing the "whole world" (here the USA) into his cause (leading to civil war).
Catching some "berries from trees that reach the sky" signifies that he accomplishes something extraordinary, truely grand, dignified and/or honorable - which probably refers to his impact in the struggle for human equality.
The next line, however, sets a limit to this greatness: he is a cat (human) that gets older (=weaker, less impactful) and eventually dies. He had a positive impact ("a good life") but couldn't "fix" inequality and slavery in his lifetime (which cannot be expected of a single person).

Reason:

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by The_$t!G

17y ago

love the sound of this no idea what could be about..

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by janeaparis1

4y ago

According to Wikipedia "Singer Ralph Mulders wrote "Black Cat John Brown" inspired by a black cat that frequented his house." So maybe it's just about a random black cat :D Though the question of the oddly specific name remains. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat_John_Brown

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.