Foraging around the falderal at my local thrift store, (I am starting to feel like they stock it just for me!) I found this wonderful gem:
“Listen to the Warm” Written and performed by Rod McKuen
On the back of the album is his historic poem, A Cat Name Sloopy — in three parts. It’s a poem Rod Mckuen penned during an unprecedented burst of love for his cat, Sloopy. And a poem, I might add, that catapulted Rod McKuen to superstar poetic status back in the halcyon days of unflinchingly serious, popular poetry.
Here are some excerpts from that historic poem with a few observations of my own.
“For a while the only earth that Sloopy knew was in her sandbox”
Just a quick heads up, Rod, kitty litter works better.
Every night she’d sit in the window among the avocado plants waiting for me to come home (my arms full of canned liver and love)
Excuse me . . .Rob? . . . you dropped a whole bunch of love coming up the stairs. (By the way, I hope you didn’t buy avocados, the grove in the window sill is finally producing!)
We talked into the night then, contented but missing something
Uh . . . could it have been Sloopy’s side of the conversation?
She the earth she never knew, and me the hills I ran while growing bent
Oh that . . . well, I hear calcium can help that.
Sloopy should have been a cowboy’s cat with prairies to run not linoleum
Good call Rod! And that’s why linoleum should be banned once and for all!
I never told her, but in my mind, I was a midnight cowboy even then. Riding my imaginary horse down Forty-second Street . . .
What? You love doing that? Me too! OMG!
Going off with strangers to live an hour-long cowboy’s life but always coming home to Sloopy, who loved me best.
Wait. . . what? . . . hold the phone . . . Rod . . . Rod! No more beer for you. Why don’t you go to bed now and see if you can’t sleep it off. What’s that? You can’t sleep because Sloopy keeps slapping her paws walking around on the linoleum? Well, just listen to the warm . . Rod . . .that’s right . . . listen to the warm . . . .
Meanwhile, I’ll see if I can get a call into the president so he can do something about the linoleum. And tomorrow you can start working on your next album. What are you going to call it? What’s that, Rod? You’re going to call it, Smell the Humidity?
I love it!
Until next time . . . I love you
Linda Vernon Humor 
I’m so embarrassed for him and so amused by you, that my day is made. Poor Rod. He also forgot a prairie runnin’ cat is called prey.
Ha! Good point Addie! 🙂
hahahahahha!
Let me tell you, Sloopy was nobody’s linoleum lovin’ fool. Word on the street was that he was hanging out at the neighbors, eating guacamole and using real kitty litter. It might’ve been a rumor but something tells me that Sloopy wasn’t just “listening to the warm.” Poor Rod never knew…
Thanks for making me LOL, Linda!!!!
And thanks for making me LOL too! Haha! That’ Sloopy what a little alley cat she was!
Sounds like Rod needs a girlfriend. Even Sloopy seemed annoyed by his affections. All she probably wanted from him was to eat his avocado plant and crap in his sandbox.
I think Rod is just one of those lone wolf types. He’s just a man and his kitty, goin’ it alone out on the ol’ prairie!
Hi,
Love your take on the poem, and oh yes poor old Rod surly does need that girlfriend, and of course poor sloopy is definitely the victim in this poem. 🙂
Ha ha! I know. Poor ol’ Rod! I wonder if Sloopy ever knew the extent to which she inspired Rod? I’m guessing no. 🙂
It’s pretty sad when a guy wants to write a love song and the only living critter in his life is a cat. Sorry, Rod.
Ronnie
Ha ha! So true, Ronnie!
Something about the title ending with “warm” makes me gag. Might as well have used “moist” or “lover.” Two other equally gag-worthy options. 🙂
Haha! Our family hates the word “moist” especially Jackie! That’s so funny. 🙂
Rod is obviously under the spell of his feline overlord.
I say ban the cats with the linoleum.
BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!!!
I’ll get on it stat!
If she was going to do all that sitting among the avocado plants, the least she could do was make some guacamole. Maybe Rod would have come home faster if he knew it was Mexican fiesta night.
Really, I know 37 never works late when the cat decides to whip up Mexican food!
Okay, I have breaking news. My husband said his family actually had this album!!! I haven’t heard him laugh this hard in a long time. And apparently he studied the album cover, too, because he knew everything about it! Hahaha!
Oh Lisa! Hahahahaha! That little tidbit of news just makes my day. Every time I need a little pick me up I’ll think of your husband as a little kid reading A Cat Named Sloopy and studying that album! 😀
You had me at: Foraging around the falderal
As the great Lawrence Welk said: Wonderful, Wonderful.
All joy. HF
YAY! Joy in a big way to you too HF! 🙂
Listen to the warm… yes, I love a cracklin’ fire, preferably in a fireplace, not a litterbox…
Was that really the poem that made Rod a star? I had no idea. Sounded like a lotta cat’s liver to me, but the guy wrote some wonderful songs. Check out The World I Used To Know sometime– it’s probably in the frisbee rack at the thrift store!! : )
Oh I will check out that song. Wiki said that he wrote over 1500 songs and he’s still alive and lives with his brother. No mention of Sloopy. And truthfuly, I went to You tube and listened to his performance of it, and it actualy doesn’t sound nearly as silly . . . silly but not as silly!