To take it easy

that's your fault

take your time
Do you think that relationships between parents and their kids have changed over time? Do
parents today face a harder or easier time raising kids?
FATHER AND SON

[Verse 1: Father]
It's not time to make a change
Just relax, take it easy
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to know
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old
But I'm happy
I was once like you are now
And I know that it's not easy
To be calm
When you've found something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Why, think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow
But your dreams may not

[Verse 2: Son]
How can I try to explain?
When I do, he turns away again
It's always been the same
Same old story
From the moment I could talk
I was ordered to listen
Now there's a way
And I know that I have to go away
I know, I have to go

[Verse 3: Father & (Son)]

It's not time to make a change (Away, away, away)
Just sit down, take it slowly
You're still young, that's your fault (I know)
There's so much you have to go through (I have to make this decision)
Find a girl, settle down (Alone)
If you want you can marry
Look at me (No)
I am old, but I'm happy

[Verse 4: Son & (Father)]

All the times that I've cried (Stay, stay, stay)
Keeping all the things I knew inside
It's hard
But it's harder to ignore it (Why must you go)
If they were right, I'd agree (And make this decision)
But it's them they know, not me (Alone)
Now there's a way
And I know that I have to go away
I know, I have to go
The Story Behind Father And Son by Cat Stevens
By Alexander Atkins
atkins-bookshelf-musicTwo of the most moving and enduring songs that
deal with the complex relationship between fathers and sons are “Cat’s in
the Cradle” by Harry Chapin and “Father And Son” by Cat Stevens (born
Steven Georgiou and known as Yusuf Islam since 1977). Stevens’s song
was released in 1970 as a single from the best-selling album Tea for the
Tillerman, ranked 206 in Rolling Stone’s “Greatest albums of All Time.”
The timeless song remains a sentimental favorite of the Baby Boom
generation — because they were teenagers at the time and could relate
to the youth’s point of view; now they are middle-aged parents and can
relate to the parent’s point of view. The song captures the conversation
between a father and a son, reflecting a generational gap formed by the
differences in experiencing life, love, marriage, and parenthood. The
song’s message is universal because any parent, not just fathers, can
relate to the underlying issues in the song. At the heart of the song is one
of life’s most difficult lessons — something that parents and children must
learn — letting go. Parents, drawing on their experience (successes and
mistakes) lovingly provide advice to their children because they want
them to succeed and be happy. Further along the path of parenthood
comes a point that they must let their children go, so that they can find
their own way in the world. Children, in turn, must learn when to listen and
when to speak, especially when it comes to expressing who they are,
what they believe, and what they want to accomplish. Along the path that
leads toward adulthood, children will inevitably reach that point where
they must let their parents go, leaving the nest to pursue their own
dreams, prepared to make learn from their own successes and mistakes.
And one day, they too will be parents. The cycle repeats.

So what was the inspiration for “Father and Son”? In an interview with
American Songwriter in 2006, Stevens explains how the idea for a
musical in the mid-1960s inspired the song: “I had an idea of writing a
musical on the Russian Revolution. [One of the story lines involved a son
who wants to join the revolution against the wishes of his father who
wants him to stay and work on the family farm.] One of these was ‘Father
and Son,’ and suddenly [Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records] said,
‘Why don’t you sign with Island Records?’ It was a great offer.” It was a
great offer because after recovering from tuberculosis in 1969, Stevens
began exploring spirituality and wanted to express that through his music.
He wanted to write serious, introspective songs in a folk rock style, similar
to those of Neil Young and James Taylor, whom he admired; Stevens
elaborates: “It wouldn’t be difficult to decipher my spiritual ambitions
through listening to my lyrics. So therefore, I think people would have
already had a premonition that I was on my way somewhere but it wasn’t
quite clear where we were going.” “Father And Song” fit perfectly into the
concept for Tea for the Tillerman, alongside such reflective songs like
“Miles to Nowhere,” “Where Do the Children Play,” and “On the Road to
Find Out.” (Incidentally, Stevens drew the cover art for the album.)

Like Chapin, Stevens struggled with the wishes of his father who had a
different career path for his son. In a 2009 interview, Stevens explained,
“[My father] was running a restaurant and I was a [musician], so I wasn’t
following the path that he laid out.” But although they disagreed on his
career path, Stevens noted that there was no animosity between the two:
“I loved him and he loved me.” During an interview with Disc magazine in
1972, Stevens explained that “Father And Son” was written in a general
sense, reflecting the ceaseless chasm between the new and old
generations, and should not be interpreted autobiographically: “I’ve never
really understood my father but he always let me do whatever I wanted —
he let me go. ‘Father And Son’ is for those people who can’t break loose.”

In an earlier interview with Rolling Stones magazine in 1973, Stevens

discussed a common misunderstanding of the song — that he took the
son’s side; he clarifies: “Some people think that I was taking the son’s
side. But how could I have sung the father’s side if I couldn’t have
understood it, too? I was listening to that song recently and I heard one
line and realized that that was my father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s
father’s father’s father speaking.”

Stevens’s “Father and Son” reminds us of that we are born into this world
to play our parts as children and parents, and then paradoxically the roles
are reversed. And perhaps it is only when we have seen this relationship
from both sides that we become, like the Greek prophet Tiresias, wiser
and more rounded human beings.