Verse 1

I am a bishop, sworn and dressed

In wool and gold and promises.

They came and said the cats must burn,

They came and said the cats must yearn.

They said their eyes had seen through night,

That God demanded fire and light.

I nodded, though my stomach turned,

And truly, many cats got burned.

So I hid the cats inside my house,

Behind the doors, beneath the stairs.

They meowed too loud, they stole my food,

They slept upon my chairs.

If anyone had found them there,

I’d lose my rank, my name, my life—

But I could not lift my hand to burn

What never did me harm.

Verse 2

They ate my bread, they drank my milk,

They shed their fur on robe and silk.

At night they cried, I feared the sound,

That guards or priests might come around.

I prayed to God they would be still,

I begged them like unruly kids—

But every time I thought of flames,

I let them eat again.

Chorus

I hid the cats inside my house,

Though fear slept lightly in my chest.

I preached of order in the day

And broke it every night.

I told myself God would forgive

A sin that spared a living thing,

And if He wouldn’t, then I’d stand

And answer Him myself.

Verse 3

Then sickness came through every street,

The rats ran free, the people died

The bells rang morning, noon, and night,

Until no one was left to ring them.

They marked the doors, they burned the dead,

They said no prayer could stop the spread.

I waited for my turn to come,

But it never did.

Bridge

The cats stayed close, they killed the rats,

They kept the house both warm and clean.

While every neighbor’s home went dark,

Mine stayed alive.

I hid the cats inside my house,

And when the plague had passed us by,

I knew then why I still could breathe

While all the others met their end

I believe God spared my walls and bones

Not for my robes or holy clothes,

But for the mercy I had shown

When mercy was a crime.

Now I am old, the fires are gone,

The Church pretends those days were wrong.

I bless the cats that sleep by me,

And thank the God who let them be.