Mr.Chapin

                                                        "Cat's In The Cradle"

                       
                                                      Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OqwKfgLaeA

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 talkin' '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 on the moon
When you comin' 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 "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And 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 on the moon
When you comin' 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 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 on the moon
When you comin' 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 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 comin' home son
I don't know when, but we'll get together then, Dad
We're gonna have a good time then

Ahh my favorite childhood song, and just when I thought I had the beat out of my head its back again. Everyone has one of these songs, a somewhat meaningful tune?? I guess you could call it that. This song is composed by Harry Chapin. Some know of him others don't, like myself. Its the artist himself that gets all the credit for this meaningful song. The words say it all. The song inspires the idea about a busy father commenting on the idea that he is in absence for his sons childhood. The father seems to be portraying himself as too busy to be a significant part of his sons life..which I think can be characterized as a "bad thing". This song has a lot of repetition. When Harry uses the line "I'm gonna be like him,yeah you know I'm gonna be like him" I took the interpretation that Harry was trying to foreshadow the fact, that his son was actually gonna grow up to be just like him. At the end of the song the truth is revealed, the idea of his son growing up to be like him became a reality. 

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 "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"


In this verse you can create a particular image of a child not having a father figure. The father is intensely busy, but the child understands. A parent plays a huge part in the process of  molding children. Again with the repetition of "I'm gonna be like him" Also Harry uses the technique of addressing plain folks with this particular song. Every parent either rich or poor can connect to the experiences of raising children. Harry didn't make this song out to address rich, Hollywood  people, just plain everyday people, that experience difficultly with distance father childhood relationships. Harry's song expresses an amount of different interpretations, depending on the reader. Some say the child was beaten, but that's not how I feel while listening to this song. When the child was small the father didn't have time for him. Now that the child is grown up, the dad wants to spend time with his son, but now the son doesn't have time for the father. If the father had spend more time with the son as a child and taught him the value of family and relationships the son might have learned the lesson and made time for his now elderly father. I've experienced this at a young age, and in fact to this very day. My father worked off shore for all of these years, I might have seen him 3 months out of each year, but those 3 months were always fulfilled with joyful, and the experience of exhaustion before every meal, because of activity. I always had a friend when he was home. Who you are and what you become is strongly affected by the influences of the other people you have in your life, what they do and say will create the person that you will become. 

Thanks