Harry S. Miller (born 1867 – 20th century, date unknown) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

, composer, and sometimes playwright who lived in New York and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in the 19th and early 20th centuries and is best known for his song "

The Cat Came Back "The Cat Came Back" is a comic song written by Harry S. Miller in Christmas 1893. It has since entered the folk tradition and been recorded under variations of the title—"But the Cat Came Back", "And the Cat Came Back", etc. It is also a po ...

", published in 1893.

Life

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1867 to Isaac D. Miller and Amelia Straub, Miller was the second of four brothers.Miller Parentage
/ref> He was raised in Bellefonte,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1896 to further his career as a lyricist. Miller's songs were part of

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

, and were sold to various TPA entertainers (for example, vaudeville entertainer

Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes referr ...

popularized ''The Cat Came Back'', Dan W. Quinn recorded ''He's Got Feathers in his Hat'' for the North American Phonograph Company around 1895, and Edward M. Favor popularized ''I'll Not Go Out with Reilly Any More''). He specialized in quatrains and often wrote using a Georgian Black dialect, though Miller was white. His contemporaries credited him with the popularization of the

terms of endearment ''Terms of Endearment'' is a 1983 American family comedy-drama film directed, written, and produced by James L. Brooks, adapted from Larry McMurtry's 1975 novel of the same name. It stars Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Dann ...

"honey" and "baby" in

African-American English African-American English (or AAE; also known as Black American English, or Black English in American linguistics) is the set of English sociolects spoken by most Black people in the United States and many in Canada; most commonly, it refe ...

and the spread of

coon songs Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a stereotype of black people. They were popular in the United States and Australia from around 1880 to 1920, though the earliest such songs date from minstrel shows as far back as 1848, when they we ...

, as well as the phrase, "Got troubles of my own". In 1898, Miller wrote '' The Insurance Agent: An Eccentric Character and Comedy Sketch'', a two-man play. Miller married his wife Levina and moved to Tyrone,

, where they gave birth to their daughter, Gladys Lucille, in 1905. Most of his music was published by Edward Taylor Paull (and the E.T. Paull Co.), a

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

publisher at the time, who also composed "He's Goin' to Hab a Hot Time Bye an' Bye" for Miller. The date of Miller's death is unknown, but he was apparently still alive in 1908.

Works

Songs

*Barney's Parting (1883) * The Cat Came Back: A Nigger Absurdity (1893) *Can't Loose Me, Charlie (1893) *He's Got Feather's in His Hat (1893) *If They'd Only Write and Ask Me to Come Home (1895) *Down in Hogan's Alley (1896) *He's Goin' to Hab a Hot Time Bye an' Bye (1898; music by Edward Taylor Paull) *This Wedding Cannot Be (1898) *Bring Your Money Home (1899) *Down Old New England Way (1899; music by Emily Smith) *I Loves Your Sadie, 'Deed I Do!: An Etheopian Love Song (1899; music by Charles Jerome Wilson) *I'll Not Go Out with Reilly Any More (1900) *Oh Joe, Dear Joe (1901) *The Old Virginia Home (1908; music by Emily Smith) Many of his songs have been lost, along with their date of publication, including: *A Cruel Hiss *For Your Mother's Sake *I'm 17 To-day *It's All Right Now *Keep Your Eye on Duffy *Let Her Come Home Again *My Sister's Beau *Not on Your Life, Says Dolan *She's Still Your Wife *The Telephone Girl *The Waterbury Watch *When You're Single

Other

*'' The Insurance Agent: An Eccentric Character and Comedy Sketch'' (1898)

External links

NYPL: 79 Miller music images

'Cat Came Back' music (1893) & lyrics (dialectal)

References