He's singing the song as the Father. the old guy is his son, the little girl across the table is his wife as he sees her (always), after all these years. In short his son "made it" and carried on the legacy, only to pass the baton.. this what the song is about in as short of a way it can be explained.. :)
*This song is 54 years old.* Except that back then it seems there were many more parent-child (not just father-son) abrasions as the child was growing up and moving on, it's aged beautifully. --- > I was 12 when this song came out in 1970 on the Tea for the Tillerman album. Pretty much everyone everywhere bought it as soon as it appeared in the stores. (This was WAY before the internet.) I still know all the words to almost every song he put out. That's the staying power of meaningful songs, right there. ❀
It's a coming of age song. Most of us can relate to both points of view, the father telling the son to settle down and the son looking to find his own way. This entire album, 'Tea for the Tillerman' is fire. It was one of those albums everyone had to have in their music collection.
Cat Stevens wrote many great songs. He is a true original. Combined with his unique voice, his music was an essential part of the soundtrack of my life in the early 70s, and he's still on my playlist today. I've recently watched some of his live performances on YT. If you could react to those, it would be great. (I don't know whether they'd be blocked.) Some favorites: Longer Boats, Peace Train, Morning Has Broken, Moonshadow, Wild World, Where Do the Children Play.
Yusuf Islam commonly known by his stage name Cat Stevens was a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Yusuf has sold over a hundred million records world- wide. Here's a live performance and another one of Yusuf's very successful hit songs "Yusuf/Cat Stevens - Wild World (Live 1971)" He is a very gifted storyteller
Cats in the Cradle - by Harry Chapin is another classic for all time same vibe and storytelling of our stages of life as children come and grow up on their own and a new family they create.
6:45 Notice how they are both gone at the end of the video...IMHO, the narrative is actually about one person, namely Cat/Yusuf, lol...but the idea is that it's a man reflecting on his relationship with his father and his son...IIRC, the song was originally about a son deciding to go to war and his father trying to talk him out of it, but the son's idealism led him to go anyway, "If they were right, I'd agree. But it's them they know, not me." saying that he is not acting in the way the older generation did, and he will follow his principles or morals...(But as they say, all art is about interpretation, so take from it what you will).
I found all of Cat Stevens (he changed his name to Yusuf Islam) very profound when I was a teen. I still love it. Please play more of his music. My very fave is Morning Has Broken.
We old people have already heard it and love it, young people really didn't discover much. Cat Stevens or Yusef as he is now know =n as played UK's Glastonbury Vintage stage at 75 recently. Listen to Where Do The Children Play.
Young people protesting Vietnam War, asking for Civil Rights, women’s rights, etc., while parents disapprove of college kids and people in 20’s who are frustrated. Video is confusing I think.
