Cats In The Cradle

"Cat's in the Cradle" is a 1974 folk rock song by Harry Chapin from the album Verities & Balderdash. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1974. The song later became a hit for the hard rock group Ugly Kid Joe. The Ugly Kid Joe cover of the song peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the UK singles chart, but is still often mistaken for a Guns N' Roses or a Skid Row cover of the song. Neither band has ever recorded this song and it has often been mislabeled as such on Gnutella and other Peer-to-peer networks.

[Verse 1] My child arrived just the other day 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 He was talkin' 'fore I knew it And as he grew, he said "I'm gonna be like you, Dad" "You know, I'm gonna be like you" [Chorus] And the cats 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" "We'll get together then" "You know we'll have a good time then" [Verse 2] Well, my son turned ten just the other day He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on, let's play" "Could you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today" "I got a lot to do." He said, "That's okay" And he walked away And he smiled and he said "You know, I'm gonna be like him, yeah" "You know I'm gonna be like him" [Chorus] And the cats 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" "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 "I'm proud of you, could you sit for a while?" He shook his head, and he 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 cats 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" "We'll get together then" "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'd like to see you, if you don't mind" He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I could find the time" "You see, my new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu" "But it's sure nice talkin' to you, Dad, it's been sure nice talkin' 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 cats 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" "We'll get together then" "You know we'll have a good time then" And the cats 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" "We'll get together then" "You know we'll have a good time then"