Notice
GUITAR ONE Magazine (January 2000):
"Singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was what we would
refer to today as a "VH1 storyteller." Though critics
felt that he over-emotionalized his subjects and
included heavy-handed morals in his socially aware
story-songs, Chapin earned a devoted following
through his music and his charity work as a social
activist.
Chapin's #1hit, "Cats' in the Cradle," is actually based
on a poem written by his wife about a career-oriented
man who was always too busy for his family.
Traigcallly, Chapin's life came to an end in 1981 when
he was hit by a tractor-trailer on the Long Island
Expressway, causing his fuel tank to explode. Now,
nearly 20 years later, the Brooklyn Heights Boys' Choir
alumnus still has a devoted floowing, and his
charitable spirt lives on in the form of a memoiral fund
set up in his name, which has donated more than five
million dollars to various charities and social causes
that were close to Harry's heart.
The song is played with a capo placed at the first fret,
so all of the chords mentioned below are named
respecitve to the capo's position. The tune opens with
a fingerpicked riff [Fig.1] played at the 8th fret
(remember, the "7" in TAB means seven frets above
the capo). This figure, which is the song's "hook,"
recurs after the first and second verses, as well as at
the end of the song. You don't have to inlcude it in
your accompaniment, but it certainly does lend to
authenticity to your arrangement. To play this part,
barre your first finger across the 8th fret, using your
remaining fingers to play the other notes. This part
takes some practice, so don't get discouraged as you
work through it. Use the strumming pattern in Fig. 2 to
play the final four measures of the intro.
Each verse is really made up of two sections. The
first, containing the E-G-A-E prgression, can be played
using the strummming pattern found in Fig. 2, which
also works great during the chorus. The second
section of the verse is a classic lesson on how you
can take three simple chords (D, G, and E) and,
through the use of of slash chords, create an
interesing progression with movement. Check out Fig.
3 for an arrangement of this section that highlihgts the
descending bass line created by the slash chords. To
truly hear how effective the slash chords are, try
playing theis section while ignoring the bass notes (i.e.,
use only one voicing of D). Though a couple of the
fingerings for these slash chrods are challenging, I
think you'll find the result worthy of the work.
One way to view music is that it thelps set the mood
for a story, much like a film score. And this song is a
wonderful example. In the bridge, Chapin changes
things up a bit, using heavy orchestration that comes
to a musical head, reflecting the dawning moment of
realization that the songs' subject (the father) is about
to experience. Try the strum pattern in Fig. 4 in this
section. The whole and half notes add to the tension
and drama of this section.
In the final verse, there's a change in the rhythmic
feel of the song, using "kicks" on beat 4 of each
measure to drive the beat home a little stronger. Use
the strumming pattern in Fig. 5 for the first half of verse
4.
One final note: When you play this song, listen
carefully to the lyrics and the dynamic changes
employed by Chapin throughout. As alluded to earlier,
the music in the song primarily exists to support the
lyrical story, and thus should reflect the emotional
overtones in each section."
