I don’t know about you, but I wake up every morning with a song in my head, often one I haven’t listened to in countless years… However, I view it not as some sort of curse, but instead an inspirational blessing.
The problem for me is, I can’t get that daily tune out of my brain without listening to it 10 times. It’s like scratching an itch, and that’s the only way to do it.
Where this one came from, I’ve no idea since I hadn’t heard a Cat Stevens song in ages, and I’m also not a particularly big fan. I then came to the realization that I’ve produced dedications to just about everyone close to me on this Earth except for my wonderful Sons, Craig Jr. and Tony. This song was the perfect candidate.
Credits
- Arrangements, all instruments and vocals by Craig Guerrieri.
- Recorded, mixed and mastered by Craig Guerrieri at Cygnus Studios, Florida, USA. ©2020.
Instruments
- Peavey DW-3 acoustic guitar
- Fender Jazz bass guitar
- DW Drums and hardware with Zildjian, Paiste and Wuhan cymbals
Studio Engineering: Technical
- DAW: REAPER
- A/D Interfaces: Behringer UMC1820 and ADA8200
- Microphones: R0DE NT1-A (Vocals)
Words and Music by Cat Stevens
It's not time to make a change Just relax, take it easy You're still young, not your fault There's so much you need 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? When I do he turns away again It's always been the same, same old story From the moment I could talk I was told to listen Now there's a way and I know That I have to go away I know, I have to go It's not time to make a change Just sit down, take it slowly You're still young, not your fault There's so much you'll 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 All the times that I cried, Keeping all the things I knew inside It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it If they were right, I'd agree, But it's them they know not me Now there's a way and I know That I have to go away I know, I have to go
Personal side notes:
– There’s been many interpretations of this song (including differing ones from Stevens himself), but I feel the most plausible is the “Generation Gap” that was in full force when the song was originally released in 1970.
– In my opinion, it perfectly puts forth disagreements about differing circumstances in life between a Father and his Son. That said, I did take some liberty with a few of the lyrics, to soften things up just a bit.
– The melody and original arrangement are simply beautiful. I thought about throwing in some strings and extra percussion here and there, but it’s so great as-is on the album, I didn’t want to muddy the waters with anything too fancy. I used only three instruments on the entire track.
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