Who wrote the 1967 song “Father and Son,” later recorded by Cat Stevens?

Cat Stevens wrote the 1967 song “Father and Son,” which he also recorded.

The song presents a conversation between a father and his son, with the two voices expressing different views about change, independence, and responsibility. Stevens wrote it for a planned musical project connected with the Russian Revolution, but that project was abandoned. He retained the song and included it on the 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman.

“Father and Son” became one of Stevens’s best-known recordings. Its arrangement contrasts the father’s caution with the son’s desire to pursue his own path, making the song especially relevant to generational relationships.

The song is sometimes incorrectly attributed to another singer because it has been covered widely. Irish band Boyzone released a successful version in 1995, and later artists have also recorded it. Cat Stevens, who later adopted the name Yusuf Islam, remains the original writer and performer associated with the song.