Lo conoscevo come Cat Stevens, grazie soprattutto all’album Tea for the Tillerman e alla canzone Father and Son (entrambi del 1970, quando io avevo 16 anni e lui ne aveva 22). Un capolavoro - secondo me - per la capacità di dar voce all’eterno conflitto tra genitori e figli, o più in generale tra generazioni. All’epoca ero dalla parte del figlio, oggi - con un figlio di vent’anni (quasi ventuno) - sono dalla parte del padre.

Se non la conoscete, ascoltatela in questa edizione del 2007. Yusuf Islam (il nome che Cat Stevens ha assunto dopo la sua conversione alla religione musulmana, avvenuta nel 1977, in seguito alla quale è uscito dal mondo dello spettacolo per quasi trent’anni, per dedicarsi all’educazione dei bambini musulmani in Inghilterra e ad altre opere umanitarie) ha quasi sessant’anni, ma la sua voce è assolutamente inconfondibile come allora.

Queste sono le parole:

Father

Its not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
Youre still young, thats your fault,
There’s so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but Im happy.

I was once like you are now, and I know that its not easy,
To be calm when youve found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything youve got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

Son

How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again.
Its always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen.
Now theres a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

Father

Its not time to make a change,
Just sit down, take it slowly.
Youre still young, thats your fault,
Theres so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but Im happy.
(son– away away away, I know I have to
Make this decision alone - no)

Son

All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside,
Its hard, but its harder to ignore it.
If they were right, Id agree, but its them you know not me.
Now theres a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.
(father– stay stay stay, why must you go and
Make this decision alone?)

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