‘Father and Son’ is a popular song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf/Cat Stevens) on his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman. The song frames a heartbreaking exchange between a father not understanding a son's desire to break away and shape a new life, and the son who cannot really explain himself but knows that it is time for him to seek his own destiny.
Stevens sings in a deeper register for the father's lines, while using a higher one for those of the son. Additionally, there are backing vocals provided by Stevens' guitarist and friend Alun Davies beginning mid-song, singing an unusual chorus of simple refrains. In 2021, it was listed at No. 408 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time"
Cat Stevens originally wrote ‘Father and Son’ as part of a proposed musical project starring Nigel Hawthorne, called Revolussia, that was set during the Russian Revolution, and could also have become a film; the song was about a boy who wanted to join the revolution against the wishes of his conservative farmer father. The musical project faded away when Stevens contracted tuberculosis in 1969. He was close to death at the time of his admittance to the King Edward VII Hospital in Midhurst, West Sussex. After a year-long period of convalescence in the hospital and a collapsed lung, the project was shelved, but ‘Father and Son’ remained, now in a broader context that reflected not just the societal conflict of Stevens' time, but also captured the impulses of older and younger generations in general.
Interviewed soon after the release of ‘Father and Son’, Stevens was asked if the song was autobiographical. Responding to the interviewer from Disc, he said, "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." Speaking to Rolling Stone, Stevens has said he is aware that ‘Father and Son’ and several other songs mean a great deal to a large number of fans. "Some people think that I was taking the son's side," its composer explained. "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."
On The Flaming Lips' 2002 album Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, there is a song called ‘Fight Test’ that sounds a lot like ‘Father And Son.’ In 2003, the song was released as a single in the UK and got a lot of attention. Faced with a lawsuit, The Flaming Lips agreed to split the royalties from ‘Fight Test’ with Stevens.
Labels – Island, A&M (US)
Songwriter – Cat Stevens
Producer – Paul Samwell-Smith
SONG LYRICS
[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
[Guitar Solo]
[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