Harry Chapin's #1 hit "Cat's In the Cradle," from 1974, may be one of the most powerful songs ever written about fatherhood.It tells the tale of a very busy dad: 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, 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 in the moon."When you coming home, Dad?" "I don't know when, We'll get together then.You know we'll have a good time then"To hear Harry Chapin perform "Cat's in the Cradle," click on the video embed below: So, how did Chapin's own children feel about that song? Jen Chapin said, "The one time when I get a little eeehhh is when somebody tells me, like, 'Oh, your dad, he played a three-and-a-half-hour concert, and then he signed every single poetry book, and he kissed my girlfriend, and …' And I'm like, 'That's great, but that was time we didn't have.'" Jen and her brothers, Jason and Josh, want to be clear: Harry Chapin was not the dad in the song.
"He really loved kids," Jen said."When he came home, he wasn't like, 'Oh, I'm just gonna, like, zone out.' He was, 'Yes! Projects! Trips! Family outings!'""Cat's In the Cradle" was originally a poem written by Harry's wife, Sandy, now 90, but it wasn't about him.
"It was based on the relationship her first husband had with his father," said Jason."My mother was always observing how they didn't connect on a father-son basis."Harry Chapin came from a musical family.
He and two of his brothers formed a band."We became the Chapin Brothers," said Harry's younger brother, Tom Chapin.
"And we played together for ten years.And it was the only time we were ever cool!" Tom has his own successful performing career, but Harry was always the driven one.
"When I was a kid,...