While her fans are pretty sure that many of Taylor Swift’s songs are not about men but actually about her cats, the singer has never confirmed those rumors. There are, however, plenty of other musicians who have openly dedicated a song to their pet. Below are five heart-warming examples.
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1. Norah Jones, “Man of the Hour”
Before finishing her fourth album, jazz and pop musician and songwriter Norah Jones had adopted a dog, a brown poodle named Ralph. Jones got the dog after she broke up with her longtime boyfriend and bassist, who played a crucial role in her first three albums. “I just felt like my dog-ological clock was ticking,” she said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. “I know a lot of girls my age [Jones was 30 at the time of the interview] who have gone through a similar thing recently, just really wanting a pet to take care of.”
After moving on from her partner in life and music, Norah Jones decided to put together a completely new band and aim for a different sound. The Fall sounds a bit rawer than her previous releases. It features more guitars, more distortion—and Ralph. The closing track, “Man of the Hour,” is dedicated to him.
You never lie
And you don’t cheat
And you don’t have any baggage tied
To your four feet
Do I deserve
To be the one
Who will feed you breakfast, lunch, and dinner
And take you to the park at dawn
Will you really be
My only man of the hour
[RELATED: 15 Inspiring Quotes from Norah Jones]
2. Cat Stevens, “I Love My Dog”
It doesn’t get more simple than that: “I Love My Dog” is a song that Cat Stevens/Yusuf wrote about his dog. It’s the first track the singer/songwriter released in 1966 from his first-ever album, called Matthew and Son.
Cat Stevens wrote the song at the age of 17. It’s about a dachshund he found on the street as a child. In an interview with Mojo magazine in 2000, Stevens told the story of how he saw a dog that had been left tied to a post outside a bookshop in London. Nobody claimed the dog and Stevens ended up taking him home.
All he asks from me is the food to give him strength
All he ever needs is love and that he knows he’ll get
So, I love my dog as much as I love you
But you may fade, my dog will always come through
3. Aesop Rock, “Kirby”
Ian Matthias Bavitz releases music under the name Aesop Rock. He dedicated a song and an elaborate music video to his cat, Kirby. The track named after his little kitten was released on his 2016 album The Impossible Kid.
In the lyrics, Aesop Rock raps about getting a kitten from a “cat lady in a parking spot”: She got the heroes of tomorrow in a cardboard box. He also has a line about his therapist who seems frustrated with the lack of progress his patient is making and suggests getting a cat might solve some problems.
The music video features Dina, a cat who was rescued from the streets of downtown Los Angeles, and a puppet version of Aesop Rock.
Thanks Kirbs, lookin’ like a milli
Keep an old man sharp, keep a cold Chantilly
Spun plum dizzy in a frisky moment
Never lands on her feet though, I think she’s broken
Mouser in training, nap on the toaster
Decorate her cubicle with dogs playing poker
Fifteen years taking prescriptions
Now a shrink like, I don’t know, maybe get a kitten
4. Chris Young, “All Dogs Go to Heaven”
Country singer Chris Young wrote the song “All Dogs Go to Heaven” about a German Shepard named Porter. His sister received the puppy as a surprise Christmas present, but Young fell in love with the dog as well. “He was basically a baked potato size animal,” Young said according to the website The Boot. “He is now a 115-pound tank of a German shepherd.”
The song grapples with the reality that most pets die before their humans. In the lyrics, Young imagines the day he’ll die and is comforted by the thought that Porter will be waiting for him in heaven.
And that’s why all dogs go to Heaven
To spend forever running wild and free, off the leash
I know he’ll probably go before me
Oh, and that’s the day I’m dreadin’
But he’ll be waiting on me at the gates
‘Cause all dogs go to Heaven
5. Michael Jackson, “Ben”
Well, this song is not about Michael Jackson’s pet in particular, but we thought the story was worth a place on this list as well.
The 1972 song “Ben” was Michael Jackson’s first No. 1 Billboard hit as a solo artist. It was written for a movie, also called Ben, about a boy and his pet rat. The boy has a heart condition and is an outsider. He finds comfort in his little rodent companion.
As it turns out, the movie is—surprise!—a horror film in which Ben and a gang of other rats become violent and start killing people. If you can believe it, the song eclipsed the movie in terms of fame; in fact, there are plenty of people who are unaware of the move and who think the track is an ode to friendship between two humans.
Ben, most people would turn you away (turn you away)
I don’t listen to a word they say (a word they say)
They don’t see you as I do
I wish they would try to
I’m sure they’d think again
If they had a friend like Ben
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
