1055 – Cat Stevens – Father and son (1970)

Escrita por Cat Stevens, foi gravada entre maio e julho de 1970 e lançada em 23 de novembro de 1970, no disco Tea for the Tillerman. Trata-se de uma conversa entre um pai que não entende a vontade do filho de sair pra vida e o filho, que não consegue se explicar mas que sabe que é seu tempo de partir.

Stevens canta uma voz mais profunda nas falas do pai e uma mais fraca quando chegam as falas do filho. O guitarrista dele, Alun Davies, faz backing vocals.

Foi regravada por Johnny Cash, com letra modificada, também foi regravada por Fiona Apple e Rod Stewart, entre outros artistas.

A letra:

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

How can I try to explain? 'Cause 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

It's not time to make a change
Just sit down, take it slowly
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to go through
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy

All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it
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

A versão de Cat Stevens:

A versão de Fiona Apple com Johnny Cash:

A versão de Rod Stewart: