Chapter 1: What inspired Yusuf / Cat Stevens to revisit 'Father and Son'?
You're listening to Song Exploder, where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece tell the story of how they were made. I'm Rishikesh Hirway. There's a Steven Soderbergh movie called The Limey, and it stars the late Terrence Stamp, the British actor. And in the movie, there are moments where Terrence Stamp's character drifts into memory, and it goes into a flashback.
And in those flashbacks to his younger self, they cut to footage of Terrence Stamp from the 1967 film Poor Cow. There's no weird CGI de-aging or anything. You get to see his actual younger self. And I just love that.
I was thinking about that recently, and it made me want to revisit this episode because Yusuf Kat Stevens kind of did a musical version of that same thing when he re-recorded his song, Father and Son. I think it's such a fascinating way to document the actual passing of time by interacting with your younger self.
This episode came out originally in 2021, and it was a special episode of the podcast also because it was our 200th. Here it is. The legendary singer-songwriter Yusuf Cat Stevens released his first album in 1967. He's a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and his albums have sold millions. In 2020, he released T for the Tiller Man 2, a reimagining of his hit 1970 album T for the Tiller Man.
In the song Father and Son, he sings a duet between the two title characters, doing both voices. But in the 2020 version, he approached the song in kind of an astonishing way. He recorded the part of the father, but for the part of the son, he used a live recording of himself from 1970, taken from a show he played at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
So the two parts are still both sung in his voice, but 50 years apart. In this episode, the 200th episode of Song Exploder, Yusuf Cat Stevens tells the story of how he created and then recreated father and son.
Take your time, think a lot. Think of everything you've got. For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.
My name is Yusuf Cat Stevens. The story begins with songs and lyrics that weren't originally intended for an album.
They grew out of a whole project which I was working on, which was a musical. I'd always wanted to write a musical because I lived in the West End and so therefore I was surrounded by theatres and it shaped the background of the soundtrack to my life. And so I was working with a man called Nigel Hawthorne, a well-known actor, comedian and a writer.
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Chapter 2: What unique technique did Yusuf use in the 2020 version of 'Father and Son'?
And that was very strange because I was singing the son's part. But I got my father's voice up there. He was from Cyprus, so he had a very strong Mediterranean passionate side. You knew when he was angry. And so I got that kind of anger out of me in the role of the son. And it was a very important moment in my recording memories, that moment where I sounded like my father.
But I was singing the son's part. Strange.
the times that i've cried keeping all the things i knew inside it's hard but it's harder it's
But Dad was always supportive of me. He was much more relaxed with me and, you know, he bought my first guitar, you know. He didn't quite understand what the music business was all about, but he thought, well, if it makes a living, hmm, it's OK. And he used to always ask my brother, how's Stevie? Because, you know, he used to call me Stevie. He said, Stevie, is he doing all right?
And David would say, yeah, he's doing very well, Dad.
In fact, T for the Tiller Man went on to go triple platinum. And in 2003, Rolling Stone included it in their list of the greatest albums of all time.
I didn't really intend to do another version, to be honest. But it was my son's idea when we were talking about what to do for the 50th anniversary of the release of Tea for the Tillaman. So what are we going to do? And he suggested this idea, why don't we record it again? Because you're singing it kind of differently today. I said, well, that's a good idea.
It was nothing about doing an old kind of replicate of what I'd done before. I just wanted to live them again, as I do when I sing them, you know, live. And that was the idea. So that's how we got back to recording Father and Son again. My son has a lot of good ideas.
It was, again, my son who suggested maybe we could pick a voice from the 1970s or some of the old recordings, and that could be the son, and then I could be singing the father's part. I said, I don't think that's going to work. Using the original vocal was an idea, but it's kind of a repeat. And I didn't want to just do that.
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Chapter 3: How did Yusuf / Cat Stevens originally create 'Father and Son'?
That second away could be either a way or it could be away. I have to go. Anyway, it just intrigues me. Even though you would expect that I would start to, like, take the father's role, I certainly don't. I still wait for the son's part, and then I want to sing it much more than I want to sing the father's part. The father's part is great.
You know, you go through, you swim through it, and it's fine. You know, he's kind of casual. He's a bit concerned, you know, but he's settled down. You know, sit down, just take it easy. Yeah, but... Yeah, I want to get back to the sun. There's a way, I know, I've got to go.
So I always choose the sun's dynamic because there are still things to march about, there's still things to shout about, still things to sing about. I think that's the world that we live in that's never going to change.
Coming up, You'll hear how all of this came together in the final song. And now, here's the 2020 version of Father and Son by Yusuf Kat Stevens in its entirety.
Father and Son
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 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.
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
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