the year of the cat

 

If you follow the Chinese zodiac, you’ll know that this is the year of rabbit.

 

What a lot of people don’t now, though, is that Vietnam calendar also has 12 Zodiac signs, and 2023 is the year of the cat. The cat is the 4^th animal symbol in the 12-year cycle.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_(zodiac)

 

In 1976, Al Stewart released an album titled he Year of the Cat”. The last song on side B is also titled “the year of the cat”. Its sales were helped by the hit single "Year of the Cat", co-written by Peter Wood and described by AllMusic as "one of those 'mysterious woman' songs".

Co-written by Peter Wood, "Year of the Cat" is a narrative song written in the second person whose protagonist, a tourist, is visiting an exotic market when a mysterious silk-clad woman appears and takes him away for a gauzy romantic adventure. On waking the next day beside her, the tourist notes that his tour bus has left without him, and decides to stay where he is for the time being.

In the Vietnamese zodiac, the Cat is one of the twelve signs, corresponding to the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. At the time of the song's release, the most recent Year of the Rabbit had been 11 February 1975 to 30 January 1976; thus, the song was written and recorded in the Vietnamese Year of the Cat.

 

Oddly enough, I was reminded of the song because of the death of David Crosby.

 

One of my favorite CSNY songs is “Guinevere”, which gives me chills every time I listen to it:

Guinnevere (2006 Remaster) - YouTube

Here's the lyrics:

    Verse 1]

Guinnevere had green eyes
Like yours, m'lady, like yours
She'd walk down through the garden
In the morning after it rained
Peacocks wandered aimlessly
Underneath an orange tree
Why can't she see me?

[Verse 2]
Guinnevere drew pentagrams
Like yours, m'lady, like yours
Late at night when she thought
That no one was watching at all
On the wall
She shall be free

[Bridge]
As she turns her gaze
Down the slope to the harbor where I lay
Anchored for a day

[Verse 3]
Guinnevere had golden hair
Like yours, m'lady, like yours
Streaming out when we'd ride
Through the warm wind down by the bay
Yesterday
Seagulls circle endlessly
I sing in silent harmony
We shall be free

Like “the year of the cat”, this would also qualify as one of those “mysterious woman songs”.

 

Have a listen to “the Year of the Cat”

 

Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat (HD) - YouTube

 

Here are the lyrics:

 

On a morning from a Bogart movie

In a country where they turn back time

You go strolling through the crowds like Peter Lorre

Contemplating a crime

 

She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running

Like  watercolors in the rain

Don’t bother asking for explanations

She’ll just tell you she came

In the year of the cat

 

She doesn’t give you time for questions

As she locks up her arm in yours

And you’ll follow ‘till your sense of which direction

Completely disappears

 

By the blue tiled walls near the market stalls

There’s a hidden door she leads you to

These days, she says, I feel my life

Just like a river running through

The Year of the Cat

 

Well she looks at you so coolly

And her eyes shine like the moon in the sea

She comes in incense and Patchouli

So you take her, to find what’s waiting inside

In The year of the Cat

 

Well morning comes and you’re still with her

And the bus and tourists are gone

And you’ve thrown away your choice and lost your ticket

So you have to stay on

 

But the drum beats strain of the night remain

In the rhythm of the new-born day    

You know sometime you’re bound to leave her

But for now, you’re going to stay

In the Year of the Cat

In 1955, Disney released a movie titles "It's a dog's life." Obviously, the people that made the movie did not own any cats. Here's a cat who is just taking it easy:

 

As you are probably aware, there are numerous times throughout the year when the New Year is celebrated. You can find the entire list by clicking on the link below:

https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2016/02/happy-new-year-again-and-again-and-again.html

 

This year, the Chinese New Year started on January 22, and is celebrated for a total of 15 days.  The Vietnamese Year of the Cat also starts on January 22, but lasts for an additional three days.

In closing, I’d simply like to offer these words to you;

 

Happy New Year! (chuc mung nam moi!)