Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: FATHER AND SON (Cat Stevens)
From:
Joe Offer
Date: 03 Mar 10 - 02:58 PM
The links from Ed and khandu died, so I found the archived text at archive.org:
From: Ted Hermary
The only real variation in this song is playing D, Bm7 and Bm.
Rest is fairly repetitive; though it's nice, you really
need the soul in your voice to carry it for the whole tune.
Did my best on the backing vox on last verse - timing's pretty
close I think.
FATHER AND SON
(Cat Stevens, from _Tea for the Tillerman_, 1970?)
G D C Am7
It's not time to make a change, just relax and take it easy
G Em
You're still young that's your fault,
Am D
there's so much you have to know
G D C Am7
Find a girl, settle down, if you want to, you can marry
G Em Am D
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy
G Bm7 C Am7
I was once like you are now, and I know that its not easy
G Em Am D
to be calm, when you've found something going on.
G Bm7 C Am7
But take your time, think a lot, think of everything you've got
G Em D G
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not
G-C G-C
Chorus:
G Bm C Am7
How can I try to explain? when I do he turns away again
G Em Am D
it's always been the same, same old story
G Bm C Am7
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen
G Em D G
now there's a way and I know I have to go away
D C G G-C G-C
and I know I have to go
[Break. Unsure of which chord of D, Bm7, or Bm is played.]
Verse:
(away) (away)
It's not time to make a change, just sit down and take it slowly
(I) (know) (I have)
You're still young, that's your fault, there's so much you have
(to make this)
to go through
(decision) (alone)
Find a girl, settle down, if you want to you can marry
(know) [no?]
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy
(stay) (stay, stay)
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside
(why?) (must) (you go and make this de-
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it.
cision) (alone?)
If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them they know, not me
Now there's a way, and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go. (ends on single strum of G)
Someone else suggested playing C (add D), which adds the note
the voice sings. In fact, there's a whole bunch of added
notes not included here. This makes for a beautiful 2-guitar
solo, which, since it repeats the same chords, could be really
dull otherwise. If anyone can add to this, please do. The closest
I come is the G-C part (intro, ends of 1st verse, chorus and break)
where there's a little slide. One fairly easy way to play it is to
hold the C chord, add the G on the 1st string with your pinky and
slide the whole thing up, after hitting the second G:
e ---3----3s5----------------
b -1----1--------------------
or whatever...
BTW, any of you guys ever played this for your father?
Martin (Ted) Hermary
Department of Sociology
McGill University
855 Shebrooke Street West
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H3A 2T7
e-mail: czth@musica.mcgill.ca
From: Harlan L Thompson
FATHER AND SON- Cat Stevens
INTRO: G C riff: (E----4----6--) rpt 3 times
(B--2----2----)
G D C Am7
It's not time to make a change, just relax and take it easy
G Em
You're still young that's your fault
Am D
there's so much you have to know
G D C Am7
Find a girl, settle down, if you want to, you can marry
G Em Am C D
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy
G Bm7 C Am7
I was once like you are now, and I know that its not easy
G Em Am C D
to be calm, when you've found something going on
G Bm7 C Am7
But take your time, think a lot, why think of everything you've got
G Em D G
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not
G-C riff G-C riff
CHORUS #1:
G Bm C Am7
How can I try to explain? when I do he turns away again
G Em Am C D
it's always been the same, same old story
G Bm C Am7
>From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen
G Em D G
now there's a way and I know I have to go away
D C G G-C riff G-C riff
and I know I have to go
(away) (away)
It's not time to make a change, just sit down and take it slowly
(I) (know) (I have)
You're still young, that's your fault, there's so much you have
(to make this)
to go through
(decision) (alone)
Find a girl, settle down, if you want to you can marry
(no)
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy
CHORUS #2:
(stay) (stay, stay)
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside
(why?) (must) (you go and make this de-
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it
cision) (alone?)
If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them they know, not me
Now there's a way, and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
NOTE: Just a tidying up of previous versions.
(from Tea for the Tillerman, 1970)
(sent by Harlan at harlant@hawaii.edu)
{t:Father and Son}
{st:Cat Stevens}
{comment: Father}
It's not [G]time to make a [D]change, just re[C]lax, take it [Am7]easy
you're still [G]young, that's your [Em]fault,
there's so [Am]much you have to [D]know
Find a [G]girl, settle [D]down, if you [C]want, you can [Am7]marry
Look at [G]me, I am [Em]old, but I'm [Am]happy [D]
I was [G]once like you are [Bm7]now, and I [C]know that's it's not [Am7]easy
to be [G]calm when you've [Em]found something [Am]going on [D]
But take your [G]time, think a [Bm7]lot,
think of [C]everything you've [Am7]got
for you will [G]still be here to[Em]morrow,
but your [D]dreams may [G]not [C]
{comment: Son}
How can [G]I try to ex[Bm]plain,
when I [C]do he turns a[Am7]way again
It's [G]always been the [Em]same, same old [Am]story. [D]
From the [G]moment I could [Bm]talk, I was [C]ordered to [Am7]listen
now there's a [G]way and I [Em]know that I [D]have to [G]go away.
I [D]know I [C]have to [G]go [C]
{comment: Father}
It's not [G]time to make a [D]change, just re[C]lax, take it [Am7]slowly
you're still [G]young, that's your [Em]fault,
there's so [Am]much you have to [D]go through
Find a [G]girl, settle [D]down, if you [C]want, you can [Am7]marry
Look at [G]me, I am [Em]old, but I'm [Am]happy [D]
{comment: Son}
All the [G]times that I've [Bm]tried keeping
[C]all the things I [Am7]knew inside
It's [G]hard but it's [Em]harder to i[Am]gnore it [D]
If they were [G]right, I'd a[Bm7]gree,
but it's [C]them they know not [Am7]me
now there's a [G]way and I [Em]know that I [D]have to [G]go away.
I [D]know I [C]have to [G]go
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sj
