Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” Lyrics Meaning

by Jessica Shelton·December 30, 2019

This song features two distinct characters, a “father” and a “son”, who are both portrayed by Cat Stevens. And they’re not particularly having a dialogue with each other. Rather the father is addressing the son, and the son is countering the father’s argument, though in a soliloquized manner, as if he is actually speaking to himself.

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Debate Topic

At the center of their debate is apparently the son’s decision to leave home to embark on some type of endeavor. Originally the lyrics were written within the context of the Russian Revolution. So based on that understanding, the son has decided to join the Revolution, and the father is trying to convince him not to go.

However, since its original conception, the meaning of “Father and Son” has been taken outside of this historical framework and is basically meant to represent a coming-of-age story. And on an even broader scale it is also representative of societal conflicts which were going on in the tumultuous 1960s, i.e. the time in which this track was brought forth.

Lyrics are autobiographical?

Cat Stevens has stated that for the most part this song is not autobiographical. Rather his dad was a lot more free-willing, in terms of allowing Cat to do what he wanted, as opposed to the one portrayed in the lyrics. Indeed the “father” in the song is trying to forthrightly prevent his son from taking a certain course of action. And he is making an attempt to point him in a more slow-paced direction, espousing an ideology of settling down and building his life up slowly.

What does the son want?

And in terms of what exactly is appealing to the son, although the Russian Revolution element may have been overtly removed from the tale, it is obvious that there is “something going on” in the outer world that is calling out to him. And once again, he doesn’t seem to ever directly respond to his dad. Rather in his own mind he has come to the realization that his father is not genuinely interested in entertaining his personal aspirations.

And he understands this to be the nature of their relationship from the time he was born. Indeed it seems that throughout his life he has intentionally kept certain personal issues away from his dad. But he is not shunning his father’s advice outright. Rather there is something, akin to destiny’s calling, burning inside of him. And even if he doesn’t decide to heed the call, that is a “decision” he wants to make “alone”. Or simply put, he does not want his dad’s input on this particular matter.

But it is in the name of love that his dad is trying to prevent him from making what he perceives to be mistake. So the heart of their conflict is akin to a father seriously wanting to advise his son, but the son not wanting the advice.

Facts about “Father and Son”

This song came out on 23 November 1970 as part of Cat’s album, “Tea for the Tillerman”, of which it also served as the lead single.

In 2007, Cat, under his new name (since 1978) Yusuf Islam, re-recorded the song and released it on his live album “Yusuf’s Café Session”.

In 2002 a rock band called The Flaming Lips released a track called “Fight Test” which even they noticed had similarities to “Father and Son”. And to make a long story short they were in fact sued by Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens). And according to one band member, Wayne Coyne, the band was obligated to pay him 75% of the royalties from the song.

Meanwhile “Father and Son” has been officially covered by a few artists throughout the years. Most notably on the list is an Irish boy band called Boyzone, who in 1995 released a rendition which charted in over 15 nations.

Then in 2004 the leader of Boyzone, Ronan Keating, dropped a solo version of “Father and Son” featuring Yusuf Islam himself.

As far as Cat’s original, it charted in two countries, the Netherlands and Italy, going Gold in the latter.

Interesting to note is that Stevens’ rendition is also featured on the 2017 MCU film, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”.

The makers of another film, “Moulin Rouge!” (2001), also intended to heavily utilize this tune. However, Cat, as he has been known to do sometimes in the past, denied them the opportunity due to his religious convictions.