Father and Son

"the clash of attitude between the older and younger generation is beyond time" comment on this with reference to the poem, "Father and Son".

"Father and Son" by Cat Stevens is a modern ballad which explores the theme "life" on diverse perspectives. the poem mainly revolves around the generation gap and the clash of attitudes between the adults and youngsters. father stands for the mature well-experienced elder generation while the son displays the qualities of an impulsive, rebellious, revolutionary spirited teenager. the poem however is presented through the view points of both father and son bringing forward the deep rooted clash of attitudes and eternal friction between elder and younger generations, in the flow.
                                                 the father being a mature adult advises and admonishes his son to conform to the social values and be a conformist. father is well-experienced, mature and is able to understand the feelings of his son, since he himself has passed the son's age. however he tries to prevent his son from acting with impulse and revolutionary spirit due to the fear of any harm befalling on his son. he speaks and advice the son out of his own experience to not to try to change the way of things. thus, the father invites the son to turn blind eye and deaf ear to the social injustice and be a conformist following the morals of society.
                           "you are still young that's your fault..."
he finds fault with his son's age and understands that it is the nature of a teenager to be radical and aggressive. nevertheless, out of the farsightedness, the father wants his son to restrain from acting out of the rigid mentality. the father here expresses his concern over the future of his son. he wants his son to have a normal, contented life where he will not regret the past.
                           "look at me, i'm old but i'm happy"
the father wants his son to follow his footsteps and be happy. he does not like his son o go beyond his scope of vision and to the new world because he assumes it will end up in some disaster.
                           "it's not time to make a change..."
here, father tries to prevent his son from acting out of impulse. this is because the father thinks it's rather useless to try and influence the society with new trends.
                             "find a girl, settle down
                                if you want you can marry..."
instead of being a rebellious teenager, the father presents the son with an alternative solution. that is to start a love relationship and lead a normal life. he invites his son to fall in love and start a marriage life so that he will be compelled to listen and be a conformist out of responsibility.
                               "i was once like you are now,
                                  and  know that it's not easy
                                   to be calm when you have found something going on..."
the father understands the feelings and the situation of his son since he has already trespassed the limits of those ages successfully. so, now he wants his son too to follow his steps and become an equally successful man. so he invites the son to be calm, measured and look at the world in a different light. that is with experience and wisdom. thus, the father sees the society and world as for it's real state and not out of impulse.
so he perfectly and precisely understands his son to walk on the more safer and calmer path in life, out of fatherly concern and affection.
but the son's attitude is controversial and contradictory from his father. his tone is accusatory and accuses that the elders does not listen for the youngsters but just advises them to be like elders. he is fed up and bored with the admonishments so that he refers to them as "same old story". he further states that he has been a conformist from the moment he could talk.
                                     "from the moment i could talk i was ordered to listen..."
the son is agitated, depressed and dissatisfied because the elders never let him express his feeling but over ruled them. he was not asked but ordered to follow their words so that he is mentally agitated and suffering. here the feelings of the son are overcast as useless so that he is depressed and cornered. nevertheless he wants to trespass the boundaries and limits of his father and explore the world on his own. he is after the unconditional freedom of youth and sees the father as a blocking force that restrains him from doing the right thing.
                                 "if they were right, i'd agree, but it's them they know, not me."
the son accuses that elders do not speak for the society and the injustice occurred to it. so that he finds fault with the adults and seeks a more radical and rebellious path. he wants to speak up to the high and almighty about the wrongdoings. he wants to rebel against the evil powers that are wrapped in the society so that he finds his father a restraining force. he reflects the advises of adults as out-dated and useless gossip and wants to follow the new social trends. however they are not mature enough and often act out of impulse rather than experience and wisdom. he does not understand the more conservative and conforming style of elders. the feelings of the son is contradictory and unlike the elders he refuses to accept and embrace the social values of them. he wants to make a difference in the world and change the injustice that prevail. he is not feared for his future prospects unlike his father but seek to voice out his feelings and thoughts.
in this way the whole poem is comprised to promote the generational gap between youngsters. the poem contributes to show cast the vast difference in ideologies between these two generations and as a result how they are continuously clashed. thus, the poem precisely accurately demonstrates a vivid picture of clash of attitudes shown by them across the view points of both generations.