Cat's in the Cradle
| "Cat's in the Cradle" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Vacancy" |
"Cat's in the Cradle" is a 1974 folk rock song by Harry Chapin from the album Verities & Balderdash. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1974. As Chapin's only #1 hit song, it became the best known of his work and a staple for folk rock music. It was also used in the British Government's Public information film asking people to report suspected terrorist activity. It was only broadcast in the Ulster Television region.[1]
Background
The lyrics to the verses of the song were originally written as a poem by Chapin's wife, Sandy Chapin, who is credited as the song's co-writer.[2] The poem itself was inspired by the awkward relationship between Sandy Chapin's first husband, James Cashmore, and his father, a New York City politician. She was also inspired by a country music song she had heard on the radio.[3] Harry has also said that the song was about his father-son relationship with his son, Josh, saying that "Frankly, this song scares me to death".
Content
The song is told in first-person by a father who is too busy to spend time with his son. Though the son asks him to join in childhood activities, the father always responds with little more than vague promises of spending time together in the future, peppered with images from nursery rhymes. While wishing to spend time with his father, the son continues to admire him, wishing to be "just like him". This shapes the son's future behavior, as shown in the slightly-altered line "But we'll get together then, Dad". The final two verses are a reverse of the roles, where the father asks his now graduated and grown-up son to visit, but the son responds with his father's line. The father then reflects that they are both alike, saying "my boy was just like me."
The chorus refers to the following nursery rhymes:
In popular culture
This song appears in the Season 4 episode of How I Met Your Mother "Not a Father's Day" sung by Neil Patrick Harris, in the first season of "Till Death" sung by Brad Garrett and also appears in the Season 6 episode of The Office "St. Patrick's Day" sung by Rainn Wilson and Ed Helms. The song was heard at the end of the King of the Hill episode What Happens at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis Stays at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis. It was also featured in the first-season episode of Family Guy, "The Son Also Draws," sung by the talking trees that Peter and Chris encounter on their vision quest in the forest. A reference to the song was also expressed by Van and his relationship with his father in the tv show Reba. A Cover of this song was sung by the Hard rock group Ugly Kid Joe on their album America's Least Wanted. It sold over 500,000 copies in Australia
Metaphorical explanation of the chorus
A metaphorical approach could reveal that the son doesn't only represent the child, he also represents the family as a whole. The father is too busy with work and doesn't have the time to spend with his family. As the lyrics say "the cats in the cradle" - the family is at home - "and the silver spoon" which is a symbol of wealth the father has to earn. The "little boy blue" is the child that is sad because his father is away, while the father is represented by "the man on the moon" - the one far away who is unreachable, idealized by the child who sees the father as his male role model. So this is the metaphorical way of describing the pairs of opposition the song is talking about. The family which is in contrast to work and the sad and left-alone boy in contrast to his father and role model.[original research?]
Charts
| Position | |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] | 1 |
References
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTWXDY1lJMY&feature=related British Government Public information film from 1980's.
- ^ Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-1999 (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 2000), 109.
- ^ "Mike Grayeb, Behind The Song: Cat's In The Cradle"
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1993". Retrieved 2011-02-01.