Lyrics:

Lyrics: Alan Duffy / Music: Steven Wilson



The butterfly sailed on the breeze

Past a field of barbed wire trees

Where golden dragons chased around

Pampered poppies on the ground

Two silver trout sat way on high

And watched a royal samurai

Plant two black orchids in a box

And strap it to a laughing fox

A minstrel bought a crooked spoon

He gave it to a blue baboon

Who filled it full of virgin snow

And watched it in the afterglow



Fat toad stood in his ballet shoes

Teaching sixteen kangaroos

How to skip across a lake

They found it hard to stay awake

A pharaoh played a merry tune

And watched nine cats dance on the moon

I didn't know what all this meant

I didn't know why I'd been sent.



The Insignificance version of Nine Cats has the following additional verse at the end:



I threw 5 clocks down on my bed

The chimes danced out on golden threads

And turned to footprints on my wall

Sequined tears began to fall