Skimbleshanks, The Railway Cat

Skimbleshanks, the railway cat
The cat of the Railway Train

There's a whisper down the line
At 11:39
When the night mail's ready to depart
Saying: Skimble, where is Skimble?
Has he gone to hunt the thimble?
We must find him, or the train can't start

All the guards and all the porters
And the stationmaster's daughters
Would be searching high and low
Saying: Skimble, where is Skimble?
For unless he's very nimble
Then the night mail just can't go

At 11:42, with the signal overdue
And the passengers all frantic to a man
That's when I would appear and I'd saunter to the rear
I'd been busy in the luggage van

Then he gave one flash of his glass-green eyes
And the signal went all clear
They'd be off at last to the northern part
Of the Northern Hemisphere

Skimbleshanks, the railway cat
The cat of the Railway Train

You could say that by and large
It was me who was in charge
Of the sleeping car express
From the driver and the guards
To the bag men playing cards
I'd supervise them all
More or less

Down the corridor, he paces and examines all the faces
Of the travellers in the first and the third
He established his control by a regular patrol
And he'd know at once if anything occurred

He would watch without winking
And he knows what you were thinking
And it's certain that he didn't approve
Of hilarity and riot
So the folk were very quiet
When Skimble was about and on the move

You could play no pranks with Skimbleshanks
He's a cat that cannot be ignored
So nothing went wrong on the northern mail
When Skimbleshanks was aboard

It was very pleasant when they'd found their little den
With their name written up on the door
And the berth was very neat, with a newly folded sheet
And not a speck of dust on the floor

There was every sort of light
You could make it dark or bright
And a button you could turn to make a breeze
And a funny little basin
You're supposed to wash your face in
And a crank to shut the window should you sneeze

Then the guard looked in politely
And would ask you very brightly
Do you like your morning tea weak or strong?
But I was just behind him
And was ready to remind him
For Skimble won't let anything go wrong

When they crept into their cozy berths
And pulled up the counterpane
They all could reflect it was very nice
To know that they wouldn't be bothered by mice
They can leave all that to the railway cat
The cat of the Railway Train

Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat
The cat of the Railway Train
Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat
The cat of the Railway Train