Hello there! Welcome to Tuesday and Tuesday's Musical Notes, the only blog on the internetosphere to blend secular music with a Scriptural overtone, or application, or well, let's face it...we take the song and make it mean something a bit different than its original intent, making us in good company with the other gazillion blogs that populate your sensory needs for the week!
Welcome! We hope you enjoy our little soiree together each week as we explore the multifaceted world of music and place multilayered application to its rhymes and rhythms. Let's dispense with the vocabularial exercise and new word introductions (at least they seem new to Grammarly) and put the musical blender setting on pulverize as we enter the classic world of 1974 and some classic children's poetry.
Goodness, the boy is just like him!!! Before we begin with the breakdown on Harry Chapin's only #1 song, we must include this disclaimer...we confess a personal disdain for this song. Even with its well-intended guilt trip, the song is downright depressing. I guess perhaps "Cat's in the Cradle" hits a little too close to home as I attempt to make up for my own personal lost time with children and try not to replicate the mistakes of the past with my grandchildren. Ok, confession time is over. You get the point. "Cat's in the Cradle" fits the theme of today's blog, even though I don't dig it personally. Let me know what you think in the comments if you are so inclined. I look forward to hearing from you!
Nominated for a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy in 1975, "Cat's in the Cradle" has become a standard for more mellow classic pop radio stations and playlists around the world. It did not win the Grammy in that category for 1975, but the song did receive the Grammy President's Merit Award in 1986 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011. Written by Chapin's wife, Sandra "Sandy" Gaston, the song was inspired by the relationship between her previous husband and his father. Chapin himself was quoted as saying about "Cat's in the Cradle" and his own relationship with son Josh, "Frankly, this song scares me to death." The song continues to grip guilt-ridden parents around the globe as they attempt the process of parenting. Sorry, I promised to stop...why did I pick this song?!!!
Ugly Kid Joe had their highest Billboard Hot 100 chart placement (peaked at #6) with their 1996 cover of "Cat's in the Cradle". Here for your perusal:
Between 1972 and 1981 Harry Chapin recorded 11 albums and released 14 singles. 3 of which made the top 40, 1972's "Taxi" peaked at #24, His signature song and only #1 "Cat's in the Cradle" in 1974, and 1980's "Sequel" which went as high as #23 on the charts.
Many may not know that Harry Chapin was quite the philanthropist and received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1987 for his work to end world hunger. The award was given posthumously as Chapin had been killed in a car accident in 1981 at the age of 38 once again showing, with a musical artist's example, that life is fragile and our time to make an influence is brief.
"He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and his heart was not [c]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David." - 1 Kings 15:3 1 Kings 15:3 New American Standard Bible/The Amplified Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel
Thus begins the reign of Solomon's son, King Rehoboam of Israel. Because of his evil, the kingdom became divided into the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. At this point, in doing a chronological reading of the Bible, things can get a might tricky. Keeping the 20 kings of Judah and the 19 Kings of Israel in the right context can be a significant task. So, as always, Tuesday's Musical Notes is here to help. We are dropping the link to a Kings of Israel chart for your reference as well as ours as we proceed to tell of the significance that parents play in the role of their children, a la "Cat's in the Cradle".
For our purposes, we will start with King Solomon and go from there. Solomon was David's son and was a good king...until he wasn't. We have discussed some of Solomon's indiscretions in previous notes (yup, there is the unapologetic "Check out the archives" hint...) By the time Solomon was old and about to die, his children had been witness to some pretty nasty stuff. His son Rehoboam took up where Solomon left off in the evil department thus causing the civil war that led to the splitting of the Kingdoms. According to the chart, only 6 of the 20 kings of Judah did right and rebelled against the evil that had been their predecessor's nature. To make matters worse, NONE of the Kings of Israel did right. As you read the narrative of these kings, you see where the phrase "He did evil in the sight of the Lord as did his father..." could have been copied and pasted 33 times when referring to the kings of the 2 kingdoms. The evil in their leadership was not due to a lack of guidance from previous kings. Ironically, Solomon (or one of the writers of Proverbs) wrote about leading nations:
As you can see, most of the kings in the divided kingdoms did NOT follow in the ways suggested by the writer of Proverbs. In many instances, the Bible records that they became increasingly eviler (Yup, Grammarly likes THAT one?) than their fathers had been. With this poor leadership came a point where God had to hold them in judgment, much the same way He did to the original inhabitants of the land whom Israel had conquered.
Also notice, that the good kings, the ones who did right, were in the minority. (We could go into a whole "narrow is the gate" vs. "wide is the gate" conversation" here, but let's save that for The New Testament, shall we?) Despite the good kings leading kingdoms that were God-honoring, some of them had sons who became kings who did evil leading their respective nations into chaos. (Hmmm...there are some distinct parallels we are resisting the temptation to draw at this point...)
I have 3 daughters and a son (you know, adoption by marriage! We adore him by the way!!!). I now have 4 grandchildren. At this stage of my life, I am super sensitive to how my actions may be perceived by them. I pray every day that God will change me more into the likeness of Jesus. One of the reasons I pray this is for my kids' and grandkids' benefit. You see, like most parents, I want to see my progeny succeed in their lives. That success can be defined by the things I have deemed important as they have witnessed me interact with my environment (people, places, and things). I absolutely want them to define their lives on their own terms, however, I do have a responsibility to place before them an example of success/right living in which they can have a basis. They get to choose whether or not they follow that example...remember, while you can provide a pattern, some of the good kings had bad kids.
As we begin a new school year, I want to encourage you as parents, grandparents, mentors, or as someone who doesn't even realize you are influencing a younger person in your role in being a guide to life and living. We MUST love them while we have the opportunity. We MUST be in THEIR moments, while we have the opportunity. We MUST guide and guard them while we have the opportunity. This love, those moments, that guidance are all made better by first having a relationship with a Father who will never have regret about loving you. A great song from 1968 goes... "He is always there, hearing every prayer, faithful and true. Walking by our side, in His love we hide, all the day through..." Having a restored and growing relationship with God through Jesus can guarantee that it can be said of us (and hopefully our ancestors) as it was said of Jehoshaphat...
" And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, followed His commandments, and did not act as Israel did."
By the power of God's love you can change the way the song ends..."I've long since retired, my son's moved away, I called him up just the other day. I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind," He said, "I'd love to, dad, I will MAKE the time...my boy was just like me...."
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by loving You,
randy
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment