Cat's in the Cradle
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"Cat's in the Cradle," appearing on the album Verities & Balderdash, is a song by American singer/songwriter Harry Chapin.
It is the story of a father who is too busy with work to have enough time to spend with his son, though in the chorus the son comments to his dad "I'm gonna be like you". Later, after his son grows up and he now wants to spend time with him, the son now finds excuses to avoid spending time with his father. Too late, the father discovers his son has grown up just to be like him.
The song was written by Harry's wife Sandy, a poet and writer, long before the birth of their son Joshua. When Sandy showed it to Harry, there was only casual interest. After Joshua's birth, Harry realized just how much the song meant to him and, after retooling it some, eventually recorded it. The song became the best known of Harry's work and a staple for folk rock music.
The song was used as the music bed for a Northern Ireland Office anti-terrorism advertising campaign in the late 1980s.
Covers
The song was later recorded by Johnny Cash, Simon & Garfunkel, Ricky Skaggs, Finn Kalvik, Ugly Kid Joe, and Mandy Patinkin. Many people mistakenly believe the song to be by Cat Stevens, including many downloaders of a mis-titled MP3 version. A Cat Stevens fan web site states that Stevens has never performed the song, "not live, not in the studio, and not even privately."[link]In 2006, rapper DMC released a new song and video, "Just Like Me," that uses guitar samples and chorus from "Cat's in the Cradle," with the chorus sung by Sarah McLachlan. The video has a credit and gratitudes to Harry Chapin and the Chapin Family at the end.
On the Internet, the song's performer is often claimed to be Guns N' Roses. This is erroneous, as the band has never recorded a cover of the song, nor played it live. Usually it's the Ugly Kid Joe version which is believed to be performed by Guns N' Roses. #redirect
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External links
- [Lyrics]
- [Guitar tab]
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