Mean-Eyed Cat
{{Infobox song
| name = Mean-Eyed Cat
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two
| album = Johnny Cash Sings Hank Williams
| A-side = "Mean Eyed Cat"
"Port of Lonely Hearts"
| B-side =
| released = {{start date|1960|10|}}
| recorded = {{start date|1955|07|}}
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Rockabilly
| length =
| label = Sun 347
| writer = Johnny Cash{{cite web
|url=https://www.discogs.com/Johnny-Cash-And-The-Tennessee-Two-Mean-Eyed-Cat-Port-Of-Lonely-Hearts/master/982904
|title=Mean Eyed Cat / Port Of Lonely Hearts
|website=Discogs|year=1960
|accessdate=2019-01-20}}
| producer =
| prev_title = Going to Memphis
| prev_title2 =
| prev_year = 1960
| next_title = Girl in Saskatoon
| next_title2 =
| next_year = 1960
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|8nG13w3QsjQ|"Mean-Eyed Cat" (audio only)|link=no}}}}
}}
"Mean-Eyed Cat" (or "Mean Eyed Cat") is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.{{cite book|author=John L. Smith|title=Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vysKAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22July+30,+1955%22|date=1 January 1999|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-3629-7}}{{cite web|url=https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/130414|title=Cover versions of Mean Eyed Cat by Johnny Cash|website=SecondHandSongs|accessdate=2019-01-25}}
The song was recorded by Cash at Sun Records on July 30, 1955. Sun released it as a single (Sun 347, with "Port of Lonely Hearts" on the opposite side){{cite book|author=John Edwards Memorial Foundation|title=JEMF Quarterly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yh7aAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+Of+Lonely+Hearts%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=1974|publisher=John Edwards Memorial Foundation}}{{cite book|author=Joel Whitburn|title=Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZszAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=2002|publisher=Record Research|isbn=978-0-89820-151-2}}
{{cite book|author=Joel Whitburn|title=Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OC4KAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Sun+347%22|year=2005|publisher=Record Research|isbn=978-0-89820-165-9}}{{cite book|author=Tim Neely|title=Goldmine Records & Prices|url=https://archive.org/details/goldminerecordsp00neel|url-access=registration|quote=Mean Eyed Cat Port of Lonely Hearts Sun 347.|date=2004-05-01|publisher=Krause Publications|isbn=978-0-87349-781-7}}{{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Martin Hawkins|title=Sun Records: The Brief History of the Legendary Recording Label|url=https://archive.org/details/sunrecordsbriefh00esco|url-access=registration|quote=Mean Eyed Cat Port of Lonely Hearts.|year=1980|publisher=Quick Fox|isbn=978-0-8256-3161-0}}{{cite book|author=George Albert|title=The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t5BHAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Sun+347%22|date=1984-01-01|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-1685-5}} in October 1960,{{cite book|author=Peter Lewry|title=I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocQK9YBdRhkC&q=%22October+Mean+Eyed+Cat+Port+Of+Lonely+Hearts+Sun+347+released%22|year=2001|publisher=Helter Skelter|isbn=978-1-900924-22-1|quote=
October
“Mean Eyed Cat"/"Port Of Lonely Hearts” (Sun 347) released.}}{{cite book|title=The Johnny Cash Record Catalog|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ihbEBcJEx4C&q=%22Sun+347%22&pg=PA21|year=1994|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-29506-5|pages=21–}}{{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Martin Hawkins|title=Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EQZoSIW67k4C&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+of+Lonely+Hearts%22+347+%22Oct.+1960%22&pg=PT415|date=2011-03-01|publisher=Open Road Media|isbn=978-1-4532-1314-8|pages=415–}}
{{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Martin Hawkins|title=Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'N' Roll|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XpknDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22+%22Port+of+Lonely+Hearts%22+347|date=1 August 2017|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-250-18211-1}} which was the last Sun release by Cash as he left the label for Columbia a few years earlier.
Cash also made a completely revised cover of this song for his 1996 album Unchained. {{cite book|author=John M. Alexander|title=The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CJlHDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22&pg=PA229|date=16 April 2018|publisher=University of Arkansas Press|isbn=978-1-61075-628-0|pages=41–}}{{cite book|author=Steve Turner|title=The Man Called CASH: The Life, Love and Faith of an American Legend|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6qaANnvGwGkC&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22&pg=PT246|date=30 October 2005|publisher=Thomas Nelson|isbn=978-1-4185-7809-1|pages=246–}}
Content
{{quote|"Mean Eyed Cat" is an all-out rockabilly rave-up about a fellow who gives his woman money to shop at the general store, just so she can go and spend it on "store-bought cat food for her mean eyed cat." The cat conceit is stretched a bit, since that's the only time it's used in the song. She ultimately leaves him with a "Dear John" note on her pillow as he heads to town to bring her back. Again, the train becomes a symbol of escape and freedom, as the hard-pressed woman catches an eastbound train.|source=John M. Alexander. The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash{{cite book|author=John M. Alexander|title=The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CJlHDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Mean+Eyed+Cat%22&pg=PA29|date=16 April 2018|publisher=University of Arkansas Press|isbn=978-1-61075-628-0|pages=41–}}}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="center"|Chart (1960) !align="center"|Peak |
| {{single chart|Billboardcountrysongs|30|artist=Johnny Cash|accessdate=2019-01-25|refname=}} |