May 27, 2023·edited May 27, 2023Liked by David Friedman
Interesting theory! I think, though, that "the kids have the flu" is just an excuse along the lines of the ones his dad made. Notice that the first part of the excuse is "my new job's a hassle." The son is just as self-centered as the dad.
I think that it's just excuse-making becomes clearer if you notice the total absence of women in the song. Even the childbirth at the beginning is described as "he came to the world in the usual way," as if no woman's labor were involved. And it's "my child," not "our child" even though apparently the mother did all the raising of that child. For the son, it's not that he's saying he's caring for his kids with the flu or that he has to tend to his wife who hasn't had a break due to sick kids--no, it's all about how the job and kids are a burden on him.
"Whatever!" from the woman who wrote these words suggests to me the idea of "Sure! Tell yourself that!" (that the son's actually a family man), while thinking "I bet that's not what the son's wife would say!"
Excellent, David! That's some New Criticism in action. The author's intention might be interesting, but it's not authoritative. We readers sometimes have more insight into the unconscious of an author than the author does. G-d knows, we have more time to analyze the words. I think your interpretation makes a LOT of sense. I am going to spread this gospel to my family. We were Chapin fanatics growing up. We saw him live many times, and I shook the man's hand!
Ask yourself what you would do in that scenario. Your elderly mom/dad whom you idolize calls and says “I’d really like to see you, if that’s ok”. You say the workplace is busy (so you can’t find time to go), and the kids are sick (so apparently HE can’t come). The situation seems almost impossible. But even if that were the case, wouldn’t you follow with “how bout we plan for next week?” Wouldn’t you Skype your dad with the kids for now? Ask your dad to meet you at work for lunch in the cafeteria? In this story the talk ends with a request to spend quality time, and a rejection of the request. No workarounds were attempted. The man had his reasonable excuses and believed they justified his lack of interaction with his dad, so truly, son had become like father.
The point made is the right time never comes…his son is gonna be the same kind of man who keeps his loved ones waiting for the perfect time to spend quality time together
Whatever!
Interesting theory! I think, though, that "the kids have the flu" is just an excuse along the lines of the ones his dad made. Notice that the first part of the excuse is "my new job's a hassle." The son is just as self-centered as the dad.
I think that it's just excuse-making becomes clearer if you notice the total absence of women in the song. Even the childbirth at the beginning is described as "he came to the world in the usual way," as if no woman's labor were involved. And it's "my child," not "our child" even though apparently the mother did all the raising of that child. For the son, it's not that he's saying he's caring for his kids with the flu or that he has to tend to his wife who hasn't had a break due to sick kids--no, it's all about how the job and kids are a burden on him.
"Whatever!" from the woman who wrote these words suggests to me the idea of "Sure! Tell yourself that!" (that the son's actually a family man), while thinking "I bet that's not what the son's wife would say!"
Excellent, David! That's some New Criticism in action. The author's intention might be interesting, but it's not authoritative. We readers sometimes have more insight into the unconscious of an author than the author does. G-d knows, we have more time to analyze the words. I think your interpretation makes a LOT of sense. I am going to spread this gospel to my family. We were Chapin fanatics growing up. We saw him live many times, and I shook the man's hand!
Ask yourself what you would do in that scenario. Your elderly mom/dad whom you idolize calls and says “I’d really like to see you, if that’s ok”. You say the workplace is busy (so you can’t find time to go), and the kids are sick (so apparently HE can’t come). The situation seems almost impossible. But even if that were the case, wouldn’t you follow with “how bout we plan for next week?” Wouldn’t you Skype your dad with the kids for now? Ask your dad to meet you at work for lunch in the cafeteria? In this story the talk ends with a request to spend quality time, and a rejection of the request. No workarounds were attempted. The man had his reasonable excuses and believed they justified his lack of interaction with his dad, so truly, son had become like father.
The point made is the right time never comes…his son is gonna be the same kind of man who keeps his loved ones waiting for the perfect time to spend quality time together
Way overthinking! I think most people understand the lesson in the song was that children learn by modeling behavior.