[Verse 1]
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”
[Chorus]
And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in 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
[Verse 2]
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, “Thats 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”
[Chorus]
And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in 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
[Verse 3]
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”
[Chorus]
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
You know we’ll have a good time then
[Verse 4]
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
[Chorus]
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
You know we’ll have a good time then
Biography
“Cat’s in the Cradle” (spelled “Cats in the Cradle” in Ugly Kid Joe’s rendition) is a 1974 folk rock tune by Harry Chapin from the collection Verities and Balderdash. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1974. As Chapin’s sole No. 1 hit melody, it turned into the best known about his work and a staple for folk rock music. Chapin’s chronicle of the melody was assigned for the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and was accepted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.
The melody’s verses started as a ballad composed by Harry’s significant other, Sandra “Sandy” Gaston; the lyric itself was enlivened by the clumsy connection between her first spouse, James Cashmore, and his dad, John, a government official who filled in as Brooklyn Borough President. She was likewise motivated by a blue grass music tune she had heard on the radio. Chapin likewise said the tune was in regards to his own particular association with his child, Josh, conceding, “To be honest, this tune scares me to death.”
In 1992, the hard rock band Ugly Kid Joe incorporated a cover of the melody, renamed “Cats in the Cradle”, on their debut album America’s Least Wanted. The cover was issued as a single in 1993 and crested at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, the groups highest position ever on the chart. The melody additionally topped at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks graph. The single sold 500,000 copies locally, acquiring a gold accreditation from the Recording Industry Association of America.
In Chapin’s version, the theme changes from “when you coming home, Dad?” to “when you coming home, son?”, as the child grows up, and the circumstance changes from a bustling father ignoring his child to a bustling child dismissing his dad. In Ugly Kid Joe’s variant, all the melodies utilize similar words with an unpretentious change from “When you coming home? Son, I don’t know when”, to “When you coming home, son? I don’t know when.”
