Music Blog

Like Father, Like Son

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

The topic today at Song Lyric Sunday is to write about a song(s) dealing with children and/or families, two themes that clearly go hand-in-hand.

We have a serious tune today, a classic song that’s a lesson and a warning to parents everywhere. The song sends a powerful message which needs to be heeded before everything slips away and is lost forever. Sounds ominous, doesn’t it?

My featured performer today is Harry Chapin, born in NYC in 1942 and cousin of Mary Chapin Carpenter. Music was always in Harry’s life and his three siblings also became musicians. His wife, Sandy, was a writer and today’s song is based on a poem which she wrote. At first, Harry wasn’t crazy about the poem but after the birth of his son, he decided to give it another look.

The result was a song of regret, the sad tale of a man who only had time for his work and put everything before the needs of his young son who emulated his dad and eventually grew up to be “just like him”. That song is “Cat’s In The Cradle” which was a huge hit for Harry Chapin in 1974, being his only #1 song. It was nominated for a Grammy in 1975 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2011.

Music magazine Cash Box called “Cat’s In The Cradle” a “lyrical delight, a tender story of a father and his son and a perfect representation of how roles change in the relationship over the years”. Record World said that the song “deals with the preoccupations plaguing parenthood” and that it “bridges the generation gap by pointing up mutual faults”.

The chorus of the song repeats the phrase “Cat’s in the cradle,” which is a reference to a child’s nursery rhyme about a cat sleeping in a cradle. The phrase serves as a metaphor for the passing of time and the changing relationship between father and son. 

Sadly, on July 16, 1981, Harry Chapin died at the age of 38. He was killed in an accident on the Long Island Expressway when his Volkswagen Rabbit was rear-ended by a tractor trailer truck. He was on his way to perform at a benefit concert when the accident occurred. In addition to being a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Harry Chapin was a philanthropist and hunger activist. As a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger, he was a key participant in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977. In 1987 he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his humanitarian work.

There are many different videos for “Cat’s In The Cradle” but this is my favorite. Let’s have a listen to Harry Chapin.

In keeping with the theme today of children and/or dfamilies, here is Harry Chapin’s daughter, Jen, performing his song.

Heavy metal band Ugly Kid Joe also released their own cover; while staying faithful to the original, they chose to remove the apostrophe from the title. Interpreted literally, there is more than one cat in their cradle. This is Ugly Kid Joe with “Cats In The Cradle”.

Lyrics

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew
He’d say “I’m gonna be like you, dad”
“You know I’m gonna be like you”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
“When you coming home, dad?” “I don’t know when”
But we’ll get together then
You know we’ll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, thanks for the ball, dad, come on let’s play
Can you teach me to throw, I said-a, not today
I got a lot to do, he said, that’s okay
And he, he walked away, but his smile never dimmed
It said, I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m gonna be like him

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
“When you coming home, dad?” “I don’t know when”
But we’ll get together then
You know we’ll have a good time then

Well, he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?
He shook his head, and they said with a smile
What I’d really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when”
But we’ll get together then, dad
You know we’ll have a good time then

I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, I’d like to see you if you don’t mind
He said, I’d love to, dad, if I can find the time
You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kids have the flu
But it’s sure nice talking to you, dad
It’s been sure nice talking to you
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when”
But we’ll get together then, dad
We’re gonna have a good time then

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Harry F. Chapin / Sandy Chapin
Cat’s in the Cradle lyrics Š Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

NARŠ2024

Perks of Having Kids

Thanks to Jim for hosting another week of Song Lyric Sunday.

See you on the flip side. 😎

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NARŠ2017-present.

35 thoughts on “Like Father, Like Son”

  2. Josh really looks like his father. This was a great choice and throws in that zinger at the end that just gives you a chill (same with Taxi). I wasn’t crazy about the Ugly Kid Joe version. Some songs are just difficult to cover well.

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    1. That video with Sally & Josh was one I used previously when I was blogging on The Rhythm Section. I really liked their intro before the song started and I’m glad I remembered to go with that vid.

      Ugly Kid Joe’s official video is visually unappealing/disturbing which is why I went with just the audio. It’s ok, nothing great …. good enough to include as one of the different arrangements of the song.

      You’re right. Some songs are just not meant to be covered, like most Beatles songs. There’s no improving what’s already great.

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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    1. Oh boy, I can relate to that, Mangus! It’s so important to keep talking to our kids and making sure they know they can talk to us. Better to have those conversations a bit late than not at all.

      I appreciate your comments. Thanks for reading and sharing today.

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  8. Every parent male or female should really listen to this song it’s so true kudos to Sally Chapin …. Bang on!

    Well done Nancy great prompt and great choice I just love this song 💜💜💜

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    1. Your comment is the type that I love to read, Keith. Writing these music blogs affords me the privilege of introducing new songs to people …. and, in your case, an opportunity to listen to the lyrics and actually hear the message for the first time. That is what sharing music is all about for me.

      Thanks for your thoughts today, Keith. I’m delighted by them. 💫

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  12. Harry was one of my all-time favorites, his music and his message. I remember being deeply moved at one of his concerts with all he spoke about hunger and food inequities. This has stayed with me my whole life. I still think of it often.
    I always loved this song, and so many of his others. There are tears in my eyes right now, for the song, for all the music, for the lovely life that was cut short.

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  14. Bears a sad truthful message. And really, truth be told, parents should have time for their kids if they want their kids to in turn have time for them when they grow old. Ain’t that just sensible and true!

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  15. Great choice Nancy and I think today is going to be a lot of fun because of your wonderful prompt. Harry’s wife Sandra was inspired to write her poem after hearing a story about an old couple that was sitting at their breakfast table and looking out the window, and they saw the rusted swing and the sandbox, and they were reminiscing about the good old days when all the children were around and then the grandchildren, and how it passed, and now it’s all gone. It is sad that kids grow up and time flies by.

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    1. It can be sad, Jim. We worry about them growing up in this dysfunctional world but we are blessed to know they are healthy, happy, confident and well-adjusted young people who will carve their own paths.

      We are among the lucky ones; our family is close by and we see each other a couple of times each week.

      Thanks for adding your little bits of song info onto you comments; I appreciate that and I’m sure my readers find it as interesting as I do.

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      1. Am I that easy to predict?! But my well known love of female singer-songwriters would have given it away. My offering for today being a case in point.

        Based on his UK chart placings even that single #1 is a huge improvement. I looked him up: W.O.L.D. just made our top forty and this one got to #53, and that was it.

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  17. I was going to go with this song for this week’s prompt, but then I realized that I’d already used the song back in June 2019 for SLS. So I went with “Teach Your Children.”

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