Cats In The Cradle chords
by Harry ChapinSong Key: F Major
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: 75 bpm - Moderately in 2 (𝅗𝅥)
Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e
Skill Level: Beginner
Guitar Chords in E Major: E, Bm, Bm/E, A, C, D, D/C#, G, G/F#
Capo: 1st fret (to play along with the video in F Major)
Play-Along Video & Chord Charts
Cats In The Cradle
E Bm E Bm E
Intro: 4/4 ‖ | % | % | 2/4 | 4/4 | % | % | 2/4 | 4/4 ‖
E G
1. My child ar-rived just the o-ther day
A E
He came to the world in the u-su-al way
E G
But there are planes to catch and bills to pay
A E
He learned to walk while I was a-way
D D/C# Bm Bm/A
And he was tal-king 'fore I knew it And as he grew he'd say
G G/F# E G G/F# E
I'm gon-na be like you dad You know I'm gon-na be like you | % |
E D
Chorus: And the cats in the cra-dle and the sil-ver spoon
G A
Lit-tle boy blue and the man on the moon
E D
When you co-ming home dad? I don't know when
G G/F# E G G/F# E
But we'll get to-ge-ther then You know we'll have a good time then
E Bm E
Instr: ‖ | % | % | 2/4 | 4/4 | % ‖
E G
2. My son turned ten just the o-ther day
A E
He said thanks for the ball dad come on let's play
E G
Can you teach me to throw I said not today
A E
I got a lot to do He said that's okay
D D/C# Bm Bm/A
And then he walked a-way but his smile never dimmed and said
G G/F# E G G/F# E
I'm gon-na be like him yeah You know I'm gon-na be like him | % |
E D
Chorus: And the cats in the cra-dle and the sil-ver spoon
G A
Lit-tle boy blue and the man on the moon
E D
When you co-ming home dad? I don't know when
G G/F# E G G/F# E
But we'll get to-ge-ther then You know we'll have a good time then
E Bm E
Instr: ‖ | % | % | 2/4 | 4/4 | % ‖
E G
3. Well he came from college just the o-ther day
A E
So much like a man I just had to say
E G
Son I'm proud of you can you sit for a while
A E
He shook his head and then said with a smile
D D/C# Bm Bm/A
What I'd real-ly like dad is to bor-row the car keys
G E
See you la-ter can I have them please | % |
E D
Chorus: And the cats in the cra-dle and the sil-ver spoon
G A
Lit-tle boy blue and the man on the moon
E D
When you co-ming home son? I don't know when
G G/F# E G G/F# E
But we'll get to-ge-ther then dad You know we'll have a good time then
C D Bm E C D Bm E
Bridge: ‖ | - | | % | | - | | % | % | % ‖
E G
4. I've long since re-tired my son's moved away
A E
I called him up just the o-ther day | % |
E G
I said I'd like to see you if you don't mind
A E
He said I'd love to dad if I can find the time | % |
D D/C# Bm Bm/A
You see my new jobs a has-sle and the kids have the flu
G G/F# E
But it's sure nice tal-kin' to you dad
G G/F# E
It's been sure nice tal-kin' to you | % |
D D/C# Bm Bm/A
And as I hung up the phone it oc-curred to me
G G/F# E G G/F# E
He'd grown up just like me My boy was just like me | % |
E D
Chorus: And the cats in the cra-dle and the sil-ver spoon
G A
Lit-tle boy blue and the man on the moon
E D
When you co-ming home son? I don't know when
G G/F# E G G/F# E
But we'll get to-ge-ther then dad We're gon-na have a good time then
E Bm E
Outro: ‖ | % | % | 2/4 | 𝄑 ‖ - Free Music Transposition Simply highlight & copy the entire song chart above - then click on the link... more
- Help on reading the song charts
- Learn how to write chords
- Essential Guitar Chords
- ↓ Cats In The Cradle chords and lyrics
Notes and Helpful Tips:
- The song is pretty straightforward once you get the run of chords with bass notes under your belt. The bass note is the chord following the forward slash, therefore D/C# is a D chord leading with a C# bass note, etc. The following is verse 1 with the chords for each line:
Line 1: | E | G | A | E |
Line 2: | E | G | A | E |
Line 3: | D - D/C# | Bm - Bm/A |
Line 4: | G - G/F# | E | G - G/F | E | E | - You don't have to play the bass notes, but if you are playing solo, it does add a nice touch... it's also a good exercise in playing bass notes with specific chords. If you do omit the bass note, just continue to play the main chord for that particular bar.
- The last line of each chorus uses the same bass run as the last line of each verse
- Verse 4 is slightly different with the addition of 2 extra lines which are basically a repeat of the previous 2 lines.
- 2 chords separated by a hyphen means the beat count of the bar is shared evenly by the 2 chords.
- In a live version of the song Harry uses a Capo on the 8th fret and plays in the key of A major which audibly is the key of F major (recorded song key).
He does this, so that he can pick out the 'signature' melody that runs through each insrumental section of the song including the intro and outro.
If you want to try this, press the ' A' key on the Transposer, place a capo on the 8th fret (if playing with the video) and play the following.
Guitar Tab: Intro & Riff with Capo on 8
Song Details:
- Songwriters: Harry Chapin, Sandy Chapin
- Written: 1973–1974
- Lyrics Begin: My child arrived just the other day, he came to the world in the usual way.
- Performing Artist: Harry Chapin
- Single:
Recorded: 1974
Released: October 1, 1974
B-side: Vacancy - Genre: Folk rock, Soft rock
- Album: Verities & Balderdash
Recorded: 1973
Released: August, 1974
