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Father and Son Lesson Plan
Father and Son Lesson Plan
[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
So what was the inspiration for “Father and Son”? In an interview with
American Songwriter in 2006, Stevens explains how the idea for a
musical in the mid-1960s inspired the song: “I had an idea of writing a
musical on the Russian Revolution. [One of the story lines involved a son
who wants to join the revolution against the wishes of his father who
wants him to stay and work on the family farm.] One of these was ‘Father
and Son,’ and suddenly [Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records] said,
‘Why don’t you sign with Island Records?’ It was a great offer.” It was a
great offer because after recovering from tuberculosis in 1969, Stevens
began exploring spirituality and wanted to express that through his music.
He wanted to write serious, introspective songs in a folk rock style, similar
to those of Neil Young and James Taylor, whom he admired; Stevens
elaborates: “It wouldn’t be difficult to decipher my spiritual ambitions
through listening to my lyrics. So therefore, I think people would have
already had a premonition that I was on my way somewhere but it wasn’t
quite clear where we were going.” “Father And Song” fit perfectly into the
concept for Tea for the Tillerman, alongside such reflective songs like
“Miles to Nowhere,” “Where Do the Children Play,” and “On the Road to
Find Out.” (Incidentally, Stevens drew the cover art for the album.)
Like Chapin, Stevens struggled with the wishes of his father who had a
different career path for his son. In a 2009 interview, Stevens explained,
“[My father] was running a restaurant and I was a [musician], so I wasn’t
following the path that he laid out.” But although they disagreed on his
career path, Stevens noted that there was no animosity between the two:
“I loved him and he loved me.” During an interview with Disc magazine in
1972, Stevens explained that “Father And Son” was written in a general
sense, reflecting the ceaseless chasm between the new and old
generations, and should not be interpreted autobiographically: “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.”
Stevens’s “Father and Son” reminds us of that we are born into this world
to play our parts as children and parents, and then paradoxically the roles
are reversed. And perhaps it is only when we have seen this relationship
from both sides that we become, like the Greek prophet Tiresias, wiser
and more rounded human beings.