"Cat's in the Cradle" is a folk rock song by American singer-songwriter Harry Chapin, from his fourth studio album, Verities & Balderdash (1974). The single topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1974. As Chapin's only number-one song, it became the best known of his work and a staple for folk rock music. Chapin's recording of the song was nominated for the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.^[5]

"Cat's in the Cradle" is narrated by a man who becomes a father in the first verse. He is repeatedly too busy with his work to spend time with his son, despite his son looking up to him and promising he will grow up to be just like him. When the son graduates from college, he declines his father's offer to relax with him and instead asks for the car keys. In the final verse, the now-retired father calls his adult son and asks to spend some time together, but the son is now too busy with his own work and family to spend time with his dad, and the father realizes his son has indeed grown up to be just like him.

The song's lyrics began as a poem written by Chapin's wife, Sandra "Sandy" Gaston; the poem itself was inspired by the awkward relationship between her first husband, James Cashmore, and his father, John, a politician who served as Brooklyn borough president. She was also inspired by a country music song she had heard on the radio.^[6] Chapin also said the song was about his own relationship with his son, Josh, admitting, "Frankly, this song scares me to death."^[7]

Cash Box called it "a tender story of a father and his son and a perfect representation of how roles change in the relationship over the years," stating it was a "lyrical delight."^[8] Record World said that the song "deals with the preoccupations plaguing parenthood" and that it "bridges the generation gap by pointing up mutual faults."^[9]

In 1992, American hard rock band Ugly Kid Joe included a cover of the song, renamed "Cats in the Cradle" (without the apostrophe), on their debut album, America's Least Wanted (1993). The cover was produced by Mark Dodson and issued as a single in 1993 by Mercury Records. It experienced commercial success, becoming a top-10 hit in numerous countries. The accompanying music video was directed by American illustrator, photographer and film director Matt Mahurin.^[21]

Rapper Darryl "DMC" McDaniels was inspired to rewrite "Cat's in the Cradle" and perform it as "Just Like Me," featuring Sarah McLachlan. The song was released from DMC's album Checks Thugs and Rock n Roll in March 2006; it tells the story of his birth and adoption.^[66][67]

The song is used in the St. Patrick's Day episode of the American version of The Office, when Dwight uses the song to guilt trip his coworker Jim Halpert into going home to his wife and child; the attempt is almost successful, playing on the clear theme of the relationship between father and son in the song. Ultimately, Dwight's attempt backfires.^{[citation needed]}

The song was used in a 1993 anti-terrorism advert Public Service Advert in Northern Ireland that plays on the song's theme of a father who neglects his son in order to show a terrorist neglecting his family and his son turning out to be like his father and suffering the consequences in dying by going down the same life path. The video ends with the slogan "Don't Suffer It, Change It" and the number of the confidential telephones that were in operation at the time to report terrorist activity in Northern Ireland.^[68][69]

The song is featured in Shrek the Third, sung by Eddie Murphy, and featured in the film's soundtrack.