Lyrics
Celotno besedilo pesmi »Maček Muri« z angleškim prevodom.
Ko zapoje zvonček v uri, prebudi se maček Muri, s taco si oči pomane, vzdigne rep in hitro vstane. Mačjo posteljo prezrači, mačjo suknjo pokrtači, in za zajtrk se odpravi v krčmo Pri veseli kravi.
#Tam ga čaka stalna miza in točajka muca Liza, ki prinese lonček mleka in še mačji kruh od peka.
#Ob jedači poglobi se Muri v mačje časopise, vse prebere brez razlike, tudi vejice in pike.
#Potlej plača in čez cesto gre na sprehod v mačje mesto.
#English translation
When the little bell in the clock rings, Muri the cat wakes up, rubs his eyes with a paw, lifts his tail and quickly gets up. He airs out his cat's bed, brushes his cat's coat, and sets off for breakfast to the inn "At the Merry Cow". There a regular table awaits him and the barmaid, the cat Liza, who brings a little pot of milk and cat's bread from the baker. Over his meal, Muri buries himself in the cat newspapers, reads everything without exception, even the commas and the full stops. Then he pays, and across the street he goes for a stroll through the cat city.
#Rights
The words of this song are by Kajetan Kovič and are still in copyright. They are reproduced here, credited, for family and classroom singing; no reuse licence has been obtained, and nothing on this page may be copied further. Rightsholders can ask for a correction or removal — see lyrics & credits.
Maček Muri at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇸🇮 Slovenia
- Sung in
- Slovenian
- Words by
- Kajetan Kovič
- First known
- book 1975; set to music by Jerko Novak for the 1984 musical adaptation, sung by Neca Falk
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- playful, traditional
- Last updated
- 27 August 2026
Meaning and origin
Muri is the cat of Kajetan Kovič’s picture book, and this song is a perfect little portrait of him: a thoroughly civilised tomcat going about his morning. When the bell in the clock rings, he wakes, rubs his eyes with a paw, airs his bed and brushes his coat, and heads off to breakfast at the inn “At the Merry Cow”, where the barmaid cat Liza serves him milk and cat’s bread. Then — the detail children adore — he reads the cat newspapers thoroughly, “even the commas and full stops”, pays up, and saunters out into the cat city. It is a cat’s day lived exactly like a respectable person’s.
It comes from Maček Muri, a Slovenian picture book written by the poet Kajetan Kovič (1931–2014), illustrated by Jelka Reichman and published in December 1975. In 1984 the book was staged as a musical and ballet and recorded for television, with Kovič’s poems set to music by Jerko Novak and sung by Neca Falk, and the songs grew so tightly bound to the book that anyone who pictures the little black cat hears his tune. Reprinted twenty-nine times and translated into Croatian, Serbian, German and Italian, Muri — with his friend the cat Maca and their whole cat town — has become a fixture of Slovenian childhood, and this gentle, orderly morning song is the reason so many can sing him from memory.
Common questions
- What is "Maček Muri" about?
- A day in the life of a very civilised cat. When the little bell in the clock rings, Muri the cat wakes, rubs his eyes with a paw, airs his bed and brushes his coat, then goes for breakfast to the inn "At the Merry Cow", where the barmaid cat Liza brings him milk and cat's bread. He reads the cat newspapers — every comma and full stop — then strolls out into the cat city.
- Where does "Maček Muri" come from?
- From "Maček Muri", a Slovenian picture book written by the poet Kajetan Kovič (1931–2014) and illustrated by Jelka Reichman, published by Mladinska knjiga in December 1975. In 1984 it was staged as a musical and ballet and recorded for television, with music by Jerko Novak and Neca Falk singing, and the songs became inseparable from the book.
- Why is Maček Muri so famous in Slovenia?
- By the numbers on Wikipedia, the book has had twenty-nine reprints between 1984 and 2025, was reprinted in more than 150,000 copies for its fortieth anniversary, and has been translated into Croatian, Serbian, German and Italian; a sequel, "Mačji sejem", followed in 1992. Generations of children have grown up with Muri, his friend the cat Maca, and their little cat town.
