Difficulty: Intermediate
“Stray Cat Strut” is the eighth track on the Stray Cats’ debut album, Stray Cats, released in 1981 in the UK. In the US, the song was first released in 1982 on Built for Speed. The song became a hit in the US, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, over a year after it had reached its number eleven peak in the UK. The music video for the song received extensive airplay on MTV during the channel’s early days.
Verse Riff
Video
Bass Guitar
Video
Chorus
Here’s what both the guitar and bass parts sound like together:
Guitar
Bass Guitar
Stray Cat Strut Tab
Complete Transcription To “Stray Cat Strut” (PDF)
Complete Transcription To “Stray Cat Strut” (Power Tab)
Stray Cat Strut Lyrics
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Black and orange stray cat sittin’ on a fence
I ain’t got enough dough to pay the rent
I’m flat broke but I don’t care
I strut right by with my tail in the air
Stray cat strut, well, I’m a ladies cat
I’m a feline Casanova, hey man that’s that
Get a shoe thrown at me from a mean old man
Get my dinner from a garbage can
Don’t go crossing my path
Well, I don’t bother chasing mice around
Well, I’m slinkin’ down the alleyway looking for a fight
Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night
Singin’ the blues while the lady cats cry
“Wild stray cat, you’re a real gone guy”
I wish I could be as carefree and wild
But I got cat class and I got cat style
I don’t bother chasing mice around
I’m slinkin’ down the alleyway looking for a fight
Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night
Singin’ the blues while the lady cats cry
“Wild stray cat, you’re a real gone guy”
I wish I could be as carefree and wild
I got cat class and I got cat style