Why don't they write songs like this any more?

aruna · Oct 26, 2007

....or, the Nostalgia Thread.

I just listened to this song. It brought tears to my eyes.

What other music takes you back to a warm and mellow time? Makes you want to cry for something precious that seems lost?

Cassiopeia · Oct 26, 2007

*listens and sighs*

Oh how I miss James Taylor

Cats in the Cradle by Cat Stevens

Voyager · Oct 26, 2007

Now you made me cry too.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cy3GHCy49Dw

Voyager · Oct 26, 2007

Dang it Cass!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nZKXh4gSZCA

Voyager · Oct 26, 2007

I'm supposed to be editing here. But okay, 2 more

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dKwApaN1k6g

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9NdJT8FUaHA

Bufty · Oct 26, 2007

Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends.

I don't know if it's a new song or not but last weekend was the first time I had heard it (by chance, while waiting for Strictly Come Dancing) and Joan's version with Aly Bain is superb. I think so, anyway. Said he, dabbing his eyes.

And that line in the refrain - Heaven's just the echo of forever - is brilliant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRy53fb_7Sc

aruna · Oct 26, 2007

HJere's another James Taylor, which made makes me homesick for a place I've never been to!

Writer??? · Oct 26, 2007

They say there are some still out there, but singer/songwriter/story tellers are a dwindling breed. It's sad. And to even come close to James Taylor would be so very hard anyway. I love some of most all music, but there are those (like James Taylor) that just come along at the right time and touch you in a certain way that stays with you always no matter how you and your tastes may change.

Thanks for posting this. I needed a trip "back home" just now.

ChunkyC · Oct 26, 2007

Cassiopeia said:
Cats in the Cradle by Cat Stevens

That's actually Harry Chapin. Whoever posted that video to youtube is confused.

Harry Chapin deserves to be remembered as a gifted songwriter. Unfortunately, a lot of people think Cat Stevens wrote that song, which is kind of sad. To the best of my knowledge (after doing some googling), Stevens never recorded the song, nor did he ever play it live. Wikipedia entry for the song here.

I miss that kind of songwriting too. I'm a big fan of people like Chapin, James Taylor, and Simon & Garfunkel, to name a few.

Shadow_Ferret · Oct 26, 2007

Sad, because Cat Stevens wrote such great songs and that's such a mauldin sappy song it's sickening. :tongue

Actually, Cat Stevens wrote a song in a similar vein called "Father and Son." I can't post the youtube of it, if it exists, from where I am.

ChunkyC · Oct 26, 2007

That might well be where the original confusion came from. Cat Stevens did write some great tunes, he certainly doesn't need to have other people's music attributed to him.

Cat's in the Cradle resonates with me and now that I'm far enough removed from the radio overkill when it was originally released, I can listen to it again and enjoy it for what it is; an insightful look at the relationship between father and son in our modern society. At least that's how it affects me.

BenPanced · Oct 26, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMD7Ezp3gWc

Yeah, everybody's posting James Taylor and Harry Chapin, but the Ramones were part of my muscial generation and with a couple members of the band dead, well...

Gabba gabba hey!

C.bronco · Oct 26, 2007

ChunkyC said:
That's actually Harry Chapin. Whoever posted that video to youtube is confused.

I always hated that song since I was a child because it made me feel completely miserable. I think the first time I heard it I was four.

My preference would be Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Jacob · Oct 26, 2007

aruna said:
....or, the Nostalgia Thread.

I just listened to this song. It brought tears to my eyes.

What other music takes you back to a warm and mellow time? Makes you want to cry for something precious that seems lost?

That is a great song. I love James Taylor. These days its really hard imagine what next great "classics" in the singer/songwriter genre will be. Its hard for me to think that anyone will come along and write songs like James Taylor or Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen etc..but on a brighter note there is still some hope left with modern artists like ..Gillian Welch, Sam Beam, Mary Gauthier, Tony Dekkar. Most of the music I like that takes me back(all 24 years of it

are the classics like Taylor with the exception of the artisits listed above and a few others.

ChunkyC · Oct 26, 2007

C.bronco said:
I always hated that song since I was a child because it made me feel completely miserable. I think the first time I heard it I was four.

I was just leaving home at the time it came out, probably part of the reason it really struck a chord with me. (chord -- guitar -- *snortgiggle*)

C.bronco said:
My preference would be Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Beautiful song. Scarborough Fair is one of my favourite S&G recordings.

Ol' Fashioned Girl · Oct 26, 2007

C.bronco said:
I always hated that song since I was a child because it made me feel completely miserable. I think the first time I heard it I was four.

That song is a perfect description of my relationship with my mother... I can't hear it without thinking of her and wishing for things that could never be.

Cassiopeia · Oct 26, 2007

My oldest boy said it reminded of him and his dad when he was 15. A few months later he moved in with his Dad and they have been close ever since.

III · Oct 26, 2007

This thread just makes me wanna hug.

ChunkyC · Oct 26, 2007

C'mere ya big lug....

benbradley · Oct 26, 2007

BenPanced said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMD7Ezp3gWc

Yeah, everybody's posting James Taylor and Harry Chapin, but the Ramones were part of my muscial generation and with a couple members of the band dead, well...

Gabba gabba hey!

Well, that song made this illustrious "top 100" list
http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/list100.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1114972
along with James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" from the Sweet Baby james album, but no mention of Chapin or Stevens.

I recall that Harry Chapin basically had two hits, "Cats in the Cradle" which I thought was sort-of okay, one of many poignant songs about children growing up, usually too fast for parents ("Father and Son" was already mentioned, there's also [have kleenex handy] "The Circle Game" and "Sunrise, Sunset"). And then there was "Taxi" which I thought was horribly depressing, and I'm afraid that's what I'll always remember him for.

I've always wondered why, since both Stevens and Taylor wrote so many great songs themselves, that they did covers, and even had hits with them ("Another Saturday Night" for Stevens, probably the last before he stopped recording, and "Handy Man" and others for Taylor).

Mud Dauber · Oct 26, 2007

benbradley said:
I've always wondered why, since both Stevens and Taylor wrote so many great songs themselves, that they did covers, and even had hits with them ("Another Saturday Night" for Stevens, probably the last before he stopped recording, and "Handy Man" and others for Taylor).

I didn't know that about "Another Saturday Night". Who wrote the original?

I have to chime in here because I love Cat Stevens. All of his songs take me back to childhood, and my sister playing his records over and over again until I knew every single word by default, just cuz she always had his songs on in the house. It wasn't til I got older and really started listening to his lyrics that I realized what a great songwriter he is. More than anything I appreciate the optimism and hope he conveyed through his songs.

Can I get in on the hug? :e2grouphu

benbradley · Oct 26, 2007

aruna said:
....or, the Nostalgia Thread.

I just listened to this song. It brought tears to my eyes.

What other music takes you back to a warm and mellow time? Makes you want to cry for something precious that seems lost?

I think there's still a lot of "good music" being performed and recorded. This may not be the "best" example, but Tom Wolf is well-known at least among Atlanta-area musicians. He's got two serious and two amusing songs on his myspace page here:
http://www.myspace.com/tomwolf
Also check out his myspace friends, especially Cyndi Craven, a small woman (she's something like 5-foot-4) with a big voice. I've seen these two and many others playing live around Atlanta many times.

I go to a monthly "song circle" where we go around the room, each person picking a song for all of us to sing. Many are rank amateurs, and a few are really experienced musicians and songwriters. There's one song I'm thinking of a guy wrote about his child that's really nice, next time I see him I'll ask if he has a recording of it online, or if I can make a recording of it and put it up (I'd look for a myspace page, but I can't even remember the guy's name!). Now that I read this thread and think of that song, I feel pretty lucky I get to hear him sing the song in someone's living room with a dozen other people.

There's a lot of "good music" out there, a whole lot more than they could ever play on pop radio.

Mud Dauber · Oct 26, 2007

Writer??? said:
They say there are some still out there, but singer/songwriter/story tellers are a dwindling breed. It's sad. And to even come close to James Taylor would be so very hard anyway. I love some of most all music, but there are those (like James Taylor) that just come along at the right time and touch you in a certain way that stays with you always no matter how you and your tastes may change.

I totally disagree. I think there are many great new songwriters out there but a lot of people from the James Taylor/Cat Stevens era are not as open to new stuff. Granted, thanks to shows like American Idol, manufactured pop is shoved down our throats, but it doesn't mean good music and songwriting isn't out there. You just have to know where to find it.

benbradley · Oct 26, 2007

Mud Dauber said:
I didn't know that about "Another Saturday Night". Who wrote the original?

I have to chime in here because I love Cat Stevens. All of his songs take me back to childhood, and my sister playing his records over and over again until I knew every single word by default, just cuz she always had his songs on in the house. It wasn't til I got older and really started listening to his lyrics that I realized what a great songwriter he is. More than anything I appreciate the optimism and hope he conveyed through his songs.

Can I get in on the hug?

I remember it was a old Motown song. I found a recording here, it's written and performed by Sam Cooke:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uXQV9cANDXU

Mud Dauber · Oct 26, 2007

benbradley said:
There's a lot of "good music" out there, a whole lot more than they could ever play on pop radio.

Oops--almost a double post.

I guess we think alike.

Why don't they write songs like this any more?

On a wing and a prayer

Otherwise Occupied

Ribbed for your pleasure.

Ribbed for your pleasure.

Ribbed for your pleasure.

Where have the last ten years gone?

On a wing and a prayer

Because EYE said so!

It's hard being green

Court Jester

It's hard being green

THE BLUEBERRY QUEEN OF HADES (he/him)

I have plans...

It's hard being green

Hand? What hand?

Otherwise Occupied

rockin the suburbs

It's hard being green

It's a doggy dog world

writing on the wall

It's a doggy dog world

writing on the wall

It's a doggy dog world

writing on the wall