Cats In The Cradle Lyrics

Artist: Harry Chapin
Album: Cats In The Cradle

 

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 son
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 son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home 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 son
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 on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

More than what most knew..........

Yesterdays, in future, might look funnier. Then, everybody is likely to know more than what the most learned knows today. Like it could have appeared to shepherds a thousand years ago if somebody told them that every one on earth will be able to read and write one a day, It feels impossible to assume that one day every one will be able to know and do what the specialists of today do. I see it coming. A day when an average man on the street will know more than what the PhDs know today. Entirely new level of knowledge will flow around the world making all the complicated things of today a little less than trivial thing to do. I mean, if I am taken a thousand year ahead in time, I will be, what the new word they would have invented to replace and enhance the meaning of the word 'stupid', means.


Last few centuries saw everybody learning to read and write. The concept of public education that is so obvious today is probably one of the best policies that was made in the human history. Whoever thought of it deserves appreciation for it was partly responsible for information explosion we are talking about today. What I am talking about is an obvious extension of the phenomenon then.


More realistic imagination would be that there will be things that everybody can not do. We do not need a barber to shave as our ancestors did back then but we do need a barber to cut our heads. Only scientists used computers back then. Five year old kid designs a webpage, today, using computers. Yet there are things that only programmers can do. This distinction of 'leading' and 'being led' is likely to remain but in a different fashion.


Sun shall rise in the east if they abstain from turning the whole world around!

~rAGU