Yellow Cat Red Cat
Say Anything Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

I watch my yellow cat
Invade my red cat in the yard
The feline war has raged for years
So I assume it'd be too hard
For me to drive my foot between them
I would never risk the scratch
Just to prove to one or both of them
A cat is just a cat

Again, I watch my cousin greg
Watch mtv inside his home
He makes fun of the hip hop videos
From the couch he rides alone
Snug in the cushion of his cackling
He forgets his living doubts
He has relied on this for years
You will not yank the carpet out

These are my friends
This is who they have been for always
These are my days
This is how they stay

I watch this dude
Each night, same table
He creates and crumples up
His eyes are wide from sipping endlessly
His endless coffee cup
He feeds me quotes
That lonely goat
I watch him grazing by himself
I will not stop him when he rambles
I'm becoming one myself

Lou is bugged
Shot up with drugs
He sweats this bird he hardly knows
All that he wants is to see someone
He respects without their clothes
So like some hybrid mother/lover
She'd soothe and heal his wounds
And kiss those dying ears so softly
That the reaper stops to swoon
Oh please

These are my friends
This is who they have been for always
These are my days
This is how they stay

These are my friends
This is who they remain forever
This is how we stay

I watch my neighbor's son
Play with his shotgun in the street
I think I'll blaze all day
And marvel at the massive food I eat
It's strange, I'm skinny when I'm standing
But I'm buddha when I sit
And if I'm truly so enlightened
Why'd I waste your time on it

As I look back at countless crossroads
And the middle where I stay
Right up the beaten path to boredom
Where the fakest fucks get laid
By the faux-finest finds
It's been that way
God damn you, how you stay
With every scummy, crummy hour
Of the scummy, crummy day

These are my friends
This is who they have been for always
These are my days
This is how they stay

These are my friends




This is who they remain forever
This is how we stay

Overall Meaning

The song "Yellow Cat Red Cat" by Say Anything explores the theme of acceptance through a series of vignettes. The first verse sets the scene of two cats fighting, and the singer's reluctance to intervene because he understands that "a cat is just a cat." This represents the idea that sometimes people choose to allow conflict to occur without interference, knowing that sometimes it's best to let things resolve themselves. The second verse features the singer's cousin who spends his time mocking hip hop videos on MTV. He finds solace in this routine, and the singer recognizes that this is how he has coped with life for years. The third verse depicts a man at a coffee shop, creating and crumpling up his work, disconnected from the world around him. The fourth and final verse features the singer observing a neighbor's son playing with a shotgun in the street, while he sits in his house, smokes weed, and eats food. The chorus reminds us that despite our differences, these people are the singer's friends and this is how they have always remained. 


Throughout the song, there is a theme of acceptance for those around us, even when that means accepting their flaws and quirks. At the same time, there is a subtle discomfort with this acceptance, with the singer questioning whether he is truly okay with every aspect of his friends' lives. This highlights the fact that acceptance can be messy and complicated, and it is never as simple as just accepting everything at face value.


Line by Line Meaning

I watch my yellow cat
I observe my yellow cat


Invade my red cat in the yard
Enter the space of my red cat outside


The feline war has raged for years
A long-lasting conflict between cats has occurred


So I assume it'd be too hard
I believe it would be difficult


For me to drive my foot between them
I shouldn't intervene to separate them


I would never risk the scratch
I'm unwilling to get physically hurt


Just to prove to one or both of them
To demonstrate a point to either cat


A cat is just a cat
They are ordinary creatures


Again, I watch my cousin greg
Once more, I observe my relative named Greg


Watch mtv inside his home
He views music television from his residence


He makes fun of the hip hop videos
He ridicules the hip hop music videos


From the couch he rides alone
He sits solo on the sofa


Snug in the cushion of his cackling
Comfortably laughing in the couch's softness


He forgets his living doubts
He ignores his existential uncertainties


He has relied on this for years
He has depended on it for an extended period


You will not yank the carpet out
You won't disrupt his habits


These are my friends
These people are my acquaintances


This is who they have been for always
They've been this way since I met them


These are my days
This is how I spend my time


This is how they stay
This is their routine


I watch this dude
I observe this man


Each night, same table
He sits at the same table every night


He creates and crumples up
He writes and destroys his work


His eyes are wide from sipping endlessly
Drinking coffee, his eyes are dilated


His endless coffee cup
His mug that is never empty


He feeds me quotes
He shares sayings with me


That lonely goat
Himself, the isolated animal


I watch him grazing by himself
I see him indulging alone


I will not stop him when he rambles
I let him babble without interjecting


I'm becoming one myself
I'm turning into him


Lou is bugged
Lou is agitated


Shot up with drugs
He has used narcotics


He sweats this bird he hardly knows
He's anxious about someone he barely met


All that he wants is to see someone
His desire is to meet someone


He respects without their clothes
He admires them without clothing


So like some hybrid mother/lover
A combination of a maternal and romantic figure


She'd soothe and heal his wounds
She'd calm and cure his emotional injuries


And kiss those dying ears so softly
She'd gently kiss his struggling ears


That the reaper stops to swoon
Even death would be enamored with her affection


Oh please
Used to express disbelief or disagreement


I watch my neighbor's son
I observe the child next door


Play with his shotgun in the street
He uses his firearm to play outside


I think I'll blaze all day
I plan to smoke marijuana excessively


And marvel at the massive food I eat
I'm amazed by how much I can consume


It's strange, I'm skinny when I'm standing
When upright, I appear thin


But I'm buddha when I sit
When I'm seated, I seem bigger


And if I'm truly so enlightened
If I'm really so wise


Why'd I waste your time on it
Why did I use your time on this topic


As I look back at countless crossroads
Reflecting on many moments of decision


And the middle where I stay
I'm in a state of indecision


Right up the beaten path to boredom
Going through a predictable and dull route


Where the fakest fucks get laid
Where dishonest people succeed romantically


By the faux-finest finds
With insincere people of mediocre quality


It's been that way
It's been like that for a while


God damn you, how you stay
Damn you, why do you persist


With every scummy, crummy hour
During every wretched, awful moment


Of the scummy, crummy day
Of the disgusting, dreadful day


These are my friends
These people are my acquaintances


This is who they have been for always
They've been this way since I met them


These are my days
This is how I spend my time


This is how they stay
This is their routine


These are my friends
These people are my acquaintances


This is who they remain forever
They'll be the same for eternity


This is how we stay
This is the way we remain




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MAX BEMIS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Rip Van WInkle

"I watch this dude
each night, same table
creates and crumples up.
his eyes are wide from sipping endlessly,
his endless coffee cup.
He feeds me quotes,
that lonely goat,
I watch him grazing by himself
I will not stop him when he rambles,
I'm becoming one myself."

Shit man. Shit...



Anushka

I watch my yellow cat 
Invade my red cat in the yard 
The feline war has raged for years 
So I assume it'd be too hard 
For me to drive my foot between them
I would never risk the scratch 
Just to prove to one or both of them 
A cat is just a cat

Again, I watch my cousin greg 
Watch mtv inside his home
He makes fun of the hip hop videos 
From the couch he rides alone
Snug in the cushion of his cackling 
He forgets his living doubts
He has relied on this for years
You will not yank the carpet out

These are my friends
This is who they have been for always
These are my days
This is how they stay

I watch this dude 
Each night, same table
He creates and crumples up
His eyes are wide from sipping endlessly 
His endless coffee cup
He feeds me quotes
That lonely goat
I watch him grazing by himself 
I will not stop him when he rambles
I'm becoming one myself

Lou is bugged 
Shot up with drugs
He sweats this bird he hardly knows 
All that he wants is to see someone 
He respects without their clothes 
So like some hybrid mother/lover 
She'd soothe and heal his wounds 
And kiss those dying ears so softly 
That the reaper stops to swoon
Oh please

These are my friends
This is who they have been for always
These are my days
This is how they stay

These are my friends 
This is who they remain forever
This is how we stay

I watch my neighbor's son 
Play with his shotgun in the street
I think I'll blaze all day 
And marvel at the massive food I eat 
It's strange, I'm skinny when I'm standing 
But I'm buddha when I sit 
And if I'm truly so enlightened 
Why'd I waste your time on it

As I look back at countless crossroads 
And the middle where I stay 
Right up the beaten path to boredom 
Where the fakest fucks get laid 
By the faux-finest finds 
It's been that way 
God damn you, how you stay
With every scummy, crummy hour 
Of the scummy, crummy day

These are my friends
This is who they have been for always
These are my days
This is how they stay

These are my friends 
This is who they remain forever
This is how we stay



All comments from YouTube:

Haunted Harmonics

Juvenile, crass, and absolutely gorgeous. This band didn’t get enough shine. They were leagues above all of their contemporaries man

Draw your name show

Red cat/ yellow cat - talking about how the Nazis and Russians split Poland. Lol you’ll notice a lot of the Jewish references in this album. - but yep lol look Ukraine is yellow and so is Russia in there current wars , both socialist country’s. One a Dem socialist sovereign nation , and the other one a socialist republic - funny how these things come to fruition

Hugh Mann

@Draw your name show my man just said Russia is socialist. You know where the PEOPLE have the most power not the government. 🤣🤣🤣 You can style yourself anything you want doesn't make it true. 🤣🤣🤣 Next he is going to talk about the freedoms of the "people's republic of china" 🤣🤣

Prison Mike

Perfect description- but for me at least, I thought they got plenty of love, especially where I grew up. They were huge up in boston- sold out a show with northstar and hot rod circuit but had to check in for mental health..next show also sold out and they seemed to hit that sweetspot between notoriety and 'sell-out'..the goldilock zone for the "scene" kids..like early Nov did. But I get what you're saying. We booked trophy scars a couple times around here and they had a giant following, just not across the country..not more than the east coast I'd say- his lyrics are also amazing

Cody Slone

@Hugh Mannmans never been to Russia. Or America for that matter

John Kendall

This song has so many memorable little lyrical snippets. "It's strange; I'm skinny when I'm standing, but I'm Buddha when I sit" is probably one of my favorites. I eventually memorized this song simply because of all the little things that stood out even though it was originally one of my least favorite songs on the album (I didn't hate it, just liked others more).

Rip Van WInkle

"I watch this dude
each night, same table
creates and crumples up.
his eyes are wide from sipping endlessly,
his endless coffee cup.
He feeds me quotes,
that lonely goat,
I watch him grazing by himself
I will not stop him when he rambles,
I'm becoming one myself."

Shit man. Shit...

Alyssa Moss

My best friend told me this is his favorite song. Just lost him last night and listening to this in honor of him. Rest easy Jon.

Tim Schmidt

I know it's kind of late to say this, but I'm sorry to hear about your loss, Alyssa.

Austin Essick

Jon was awesome i loved him like a brother.

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