The Cat’s In The Cradle of Islam…Everyone Jump Upon the Peace Train

OK so let’s get this straight. Cat Stevens did not write or record “Cat’s In The Cradle” despite listings to the contrary on the web and the perhaps natural popular misconception.

“Cat’s In the Cradle” was written by the late great performing songwriter/activist Harry Chapin. (Actually, the words to the song were written by Chapin’s wife, now widow, Sandy Chapin.) It spent a week at #1 in December of 1974.

Harry Chapin died in a car crash on the Long Island (N.Y.) Expressway in 1981. He was only 38 years old. (I think he looks a little like Conan O’Brien in this picture.)

According to Wikipedia, “He was headed to perform a concert in Eisenhower Park in Nassau County when his car was struck by a truck. An autopsy showed that he had suffered a heart attack, but it could not be determined whether that occurred before or after the collision. Although Chapin was a notoriously poor driver, Supermarkets General, the owner of the truck, paid $12 million to his widow in the ensuing litigation.”

SIDEBAR: I saw Harry Chapin in concert in the 1970s while in college at the University of Florida. The show was held up for almost an hour because Chapin had not yet arrived. When he finally took the stage, he apologized for the delay and explained that his flight into Tampa had been delayed. He had rented a car, he said, and driven from the Tampa Airport to Gainesville in less than an hour and a half. It’s well over 125 miles from Tampa International to Gainesville! Man, he was “flying” in that “Taxi.”

Like Harry Chapin, Cat Stevens wrote and recorded some of the greatest songs ever, including, “Wild World,” “Moonshadow” and the multiple-time mega hit, “The First Cut Is The Deepest.” He has also been covered by some of the most popular artists of our time: Dolly Parton, Rod Stewart, Sheryl Crow…to name just a few.

SIDEBAR: Stevens has also frequently been credited with writing “Morning Has Broken” which he recorded on Tea For The Tillerman and with which he is closely identified. “Morning Has Broken” is actually a Christian hymn with lyrics written by Eleanor Farjeon (1881–1965).

Cat Stevens was born in London as Steven Demetri Georgiou in 1948. He took the name Cat Stevens in the late ’60s and, after becoming a convert to Islam in the 1970s, changed his name to Yusuf Islam.

Like Chapin, Cat Stevens was also an out-spoken peace advocate. In fact, his song “Peace Train” has become something of a peace anthem. The lives and songs of Chapin and Stevens have paralleled to a certain degree, and they are similar in their folksy, poetic, politically conscious, singer-songwriter styles.

Cat Stevens made a comeback in 2006 with a new album, An Other Cup, under his Islamic name, Yusuf Islam. It met with mixed, but generally luke-warm reviews.

About Cat’s Cradle, the String Game

Perhaps you played this game as a kid. I know I did. It was a popular pastime on the long bus ride to school.

According to Lakehead University’s Aboriginal Innovations in Arts, Science and Technology Handbook, “The cat’s cradle is a string game played by Aboriginal children of all ages across Canada. Prior to European contact, Aboriginal peoples used sinew, string and thread that were made from the bellies of animals to invent hand games that could be played individually or with two players.

“When such games were played individually, the sinew was criss-crossed around the fingers. A player would try to remove the sinew without entangling the string in his or her fingers.

“When two people played, one player would strategically wrap the sinew around the fingers and another would try to transfer the sinew to his/her hand, without entangling the sinew. The object of the game was to try to re-create the original wrap on the other player’s hand.”

SIDEBAR: Cat’s Cradle is also a famous book by the great American novelist Kurt Vonnegut.

Cat’s In The Cradle Lyrics

(Words and Music by Sandy Chapin and Harry Chapin)

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 talking ‘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 in the moon.
“When you coming home, dad?” “I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then.
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 dimmmed,
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,
But we’ll get together then.
You know we’ll have a good time then.”

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 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?”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then, dad.
You know we’ll have a good time then.”

I’ve long since retired and 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 could find the time.
You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kid’s got 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 in the moon.
“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then, dad.
You know we’ll have a good time then.”

Peace Train Lyrics

(Words and Music by Cat Stevens)

Now I’ve been happy lately,
thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun

Oh I’ve been smiling lately,
dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be, some day it’s going to come

Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again

Now I’ve been smiling lately,
thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun

Oh peace train sounding louder
Glide on the peace train
Come on now peace train
Yes, peace train holy roller

Everyone jump upon the peace train
Come on now peace train

Get your bags together,
go bring your good friends too
Cause it’s getting nearer, it soon will be with you

Now come and join the living,
it’s not so far from you
And it’s getting nearer, soon it will all be true

Now I’ve been crying lately,
thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss

Cause out on the edge of darkness,
there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again