"Soft Kitty" is a children's song, popularized by the characters

Sheldon Sheldon may refer to: * Sheldon (name), a given name and a surname, and a list of people with the name Places Australia * Sheldon, Queensland *Sheldon Forest, New South Wales United Kingdom *Sheldon, Derbyshire, England *Sheldon, Devon, England * ...

and

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in the American sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory'', and which elsewhere may be rendered as "Warm Kitty." A 2015 copyright lawsuit alleged the words to "Warm Kitty" were written by Edith Newlin; however, the lawsuit was dismissed because the court found that the plaintiffs failed to show they had a valid claim. In ''The Big Bang Theory'', the song is described by Sheldon as a song sung by

his mother ''His Mother'' is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ire ...

when he is ill. The lyrics on ''The Big Bang Theory'' are: "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur! Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr!" A scene in an episode of '' Young Sheldon'', the

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

series to ''The Big Bang Theory'', depicts the origin of the song. This aired on February 1, 2018, and shows Sheldon's mother Mary singing the song to her son, who is suffering with the flu.

Origin

The song is originally based on a Polish lullaby, Wlazł kotek na płotek ("The kitten climbed the fence"). The lyrics were noted by folklorist Oskar Kolberg in 1837, and the tune was first published by

Stanisław Moniuszko Stanisław Moniuszko (; May 5, 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. He wrote many popular art songs and operas, and his music is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish–Lithuania ...

in 1849, based on a Polish folksong.

Władysław Syrokomla Ludwik Władysław Franciszek Kondratowicz (29 September 1823 – 15 September 1862), better known as Władysław Syrokomla, was a Polish romantic poet, writer and translator working in Vilnius and Vilna Governorate, then Russian Empire. Biogr ...

and Wiktor Każyński published a version of this song in 1857, in ''Pieśniach ludu polskiego'' ("Songs of the Polish people"). Versions of the song have been released by Australian children's performer Patsy Biscoe, and by the long-running

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

children's program ''

Play School Play School or Playschool may refer to: Television * ''Play School'' (British TV series), a BBC production aimed at preschool children * ''Play School'' (Australian TV series), an Australian Broadcasting Corporation production based on the Briti ...

''—a recording sung by Philip Quast and Barbara Frawley was released on the show's 1993 album ''The Best of Play School'', which predates ''The Big Bang Theory'' and has the lyrics reversed, instead going: "Warm kitty, soft kitty, little ball of fur. Sleepy kitty, happy kitty, purr purr purr." The song remains part of ''Play School''s catalog of children's songs regularly performed on the program: the show's presenters occasionally perform the song for their young viewers.

Copyright lawsuit

In December 2015, the heirs of Edith Newlin filed a lawsuit against the various companies associated with ''The Big Bang Theory'', claiming that the words and music to the song appeared in the book ''Songs for the Nursery School'' published in 1937 by Willis Music Company, based on a poem by Newlin; the copyright to the book was renewed in 1964. The website for Willis Music states: The suit by Newlin's daughters, on the other hand, claimed that they held the copyright. Furthermore, they alleged that they did not authorize the use of the lyrics, that Willis Music did not have permission to authorize others to use the lyrics, and that the lyrics had been used not only in the television series but on various kinds of program-associated merchandise without proper permission. On March 27, 2017, US District Court Judge

Naomi Reice Buchwald Naomi Lynn Reice Buchwald (born February 14, 1944) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Personal Naomi Reice was born in 1944 in Kingston, New York, to Mr. and Mrs. ...

dismissed the suit, holding that the plaintiffs had not shown that they held a copyright on their mother's lyrics: "They have failed to establish that they own a valid copyright as necessary to state a copyright infringement claim."

References

{{The Big Bang Theory, state=collapsed Singing games The Big Bang Theory Cats in literature American nursery rhymes American children's songs Songs about cats Songs written for television series