An Open Letter To People Running Trivia Nights

Hi there! How are you doing today? Well, I hope. This brief missive will take the form of a simple questions and answer. Stop paying attention as appropriate.

Are you writing a trivia night or pub quiz? If no, stop reading now.

Are you planning on including any kind of music round? If no, you don't need to go on. You're in the clear.

Does your music round include the song "Cats In the Cradle"? If no, don't worry about it, move on. Include some rap songs next time.

Still with me? Cool. Now, bear in mind, I love the fact that you are running a quiz. It is awesome and a lot of fun. Keep it up. That said....

"Cat's In The Cradle" is not by fucking Cat Stevens. It was written by Harry Chapin, and the version you think is by Cat Stevens is by Harry Chapin. It is on the album Verities & Balderdash. Seriously. Your mp3 that you downloaded off of napster or limewire or kazaa or god knows what is labelled wrong. Please, trust me with this. Cat Stevens recorded a song called "Father and Son," which is similar thematically, but is not the same song. They are both good songs, but only one is "Cat's In the Cradle," and that is by Harry Chapin.

But wait! What's that I hear? Cat Stevens recorded a version? Please, compare it to this version here. If it sounds identical, it is actually Harry Chapin. Have you heard the truth about Santa Claus? Well, I hate to break it to you, but there is no version of "Cat's In The Cradle" by Cat Stevens either. If you think you have found it, please send me a copy, so long as it is different from the above song, which hopefully youtube hasn't taken down.

So, save yourself some trouble and leave the song of the the list. If you leave it on, you'll end up with one of two scenarios:

1) You say it is by Cat Stevens and you are wrong, and then the people that are correct will argue and make life miserable for you
2) You say it is by Harry Chapin and are right, but the people who are wrong will argue that it is by Cat Stevens because they don't know any better and their ID3 tags have been lying to them. These people will then make life miserable.

So, in conclusion, please save yourself some misery, and use the Ugly Kid Joe (or Guns N Roses, as the tag may be) version instead.

Love,

People at trivia nights who like songs by Harry Chapin