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What Katie Did

Band songlist

Info

What Katie Did is the title of a Libertines song, that features as track #10 on the band's second album, The Libertines, with the writing credit going to Peter Doherty.

Although What Katie Did was originally demo'd and released by Doherty’s current band, Babyshambles, when Doherty was allowed back into The Libertines, he let Carl Barat take vocal duties on The Libertines version as a gift. The Libertines and Babyshambles have also released session versions of the song.

According to Carl Barat, the song is a metaphor for the book of the same title by Susan Coolidge. In an August 2009 post on the French Dog Blues forum, Doherty revealed that the lyric "hurry up Mrs Brown I can feel it coming down, and it won't take none too long" originated from a Chas'n'Dave song:
"the other night I goes to a ball and they calls me Cinderella/ and upon my coat I wears a button hole and they calls me a tidy fella/ next to me comes old Mother Brown, pulling up her railway socks/ says to me come and have another dance, cos its ain't quite twelve o'clock/ so off we go, round and round, but there's gonna be some trouble I know/ cos I got no buttons on me trousers/ and me pins ain't none too strong/ hurry up Mrs Brown I can feel it coming down, and it won't take none too long".

On Babyshambles' debut album Down in Albion, there is a song called What Katy Did Next, a "sequel" to What Katie Did.

Appearing on

Live at O2 Academy Glasgow (1) The LibertinesAlbum2016-02-19
Le Grand Journal (1) The LibertinesSession2015-09-30
Time For Heroes The LibertinesAlbum2007-10-29
Back on the Bus (Accoustic) BabyshamblesAlbum2006-09-04
Get Loaded BabyshamblesSession2006-08-27
The Libertines The LibertinesAlbum2004-08-30
Babyshambles Peter DohertySingle2004-05-10
The Sailor Sessions BabyshamblesSession2003-07
Babyshambles Sessions The LibertinesSession2003-05

Concerts

Festival SOS 4.8 The LibertinesMurcia2016-05-07
AB brussels 2016 (& Chatter) The LibertinesAncienne Belgique, Brussels2016-05-03
Live @ Olympia The LibertinesMusic Hall, Paris2016-03-09
Reading Festival 2015 The LibertinesReading2015-08-30
Rock en Seine 2015 The Libertines Domaine national de Saint-Cloud, Saint-Cloud2015-08-29
3Arena Dublin The Libertines3Arena Dublin2015-07-09
Ahmad Tea Music Festival The Libertines2015-06-27
Glastonbury 2015 The LibertinesGlastonbury2015-06-26
Benicàssim Festival The LibertinesBenicàssim, Spain2014-07-19
BST, Hyde Park, London The LibertinesHyde Park, London2014-07-05
Glasgow Barrowland The LibertinesGlasgow, Scotland2014-06-29
Show more concerts

Lyrics

Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang

Oh what you gonna do, Katie?
You're a sweet sweet girl
But it's a cruel, cruel world
a cruel, cruel world.

My pins are none too strong, Katie
Hurry up, Mrs Brown
I can feel it coming down
& it won't take none too long

But since you said goodbye
Polka dots fill my eyes
And I don't know why

Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang

What you gonna do Katie?
You're a sweet, sweet girl
But it's a cruel, cruel world
a cruel, cruel world

Safety pins are none too strong Katie
they hold my life together
And I never say never
And I never say never again

But since you said goodbye
The polka dots fill my eyes
And I don't know why

Since you said goodbye
the polka dots fill my eyes
And I don't know why
Say you want
Say you will
Say you won't but don't leave me standing
Say you will, it's up to anyone
That's what they all like to know
...

And since you said goodbye
the polka dots fill the sky
And I don't know why