This song by Sonny Condell and “Scullion” was first recorded in the 70s. A great fun song, newly written but definitely in the Irish tradition. It’s sung by Cathy Jordan of Dervish with Sonny Condell himself.

The cat she went a-hunting and found the barn a-blazing
In fact she’s come a-calling, a-calling, a-calling
Wake up farm boys! The barn is burning down!

Chorus
And the cat she’s got to hide herself behind the rat she’s eating
So as not to show a smirk and maybe get a beating
The farmer slips on his dungarees and he falls down the stairs
The rats came out in their hundreds and the cat she caught a-plenty
She’s got the artful dodger, the dodger, the dodger
She spied him in the burning hay the barn is burning down!

The fire brigade is coming and frying chicken singing
And we’ll be sitting on boiled eggs, on boiled eggs, on boiled eggs
So open the cage and hose us down we may get a dozen a day

The roof is starting to crumble, sparks fly up in the night sky
The dogs are wearing their tails down, their tails down, their tails down
The boys have made a chain in the yard and they’re passing the pails along

The cat she went a-hunting and found the barn a-blazing
In fact she’s come a-calling, a-calling, a-calling
Wake up farm boys! The barn is burning down!