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."