————————————————
Up at eight, you can’t be late
for Matthew and son, he won’t wait
Watch them run down to platform one
and the eight-thirty train to Matthew and son
Matthew and son, the work’s never done
there’s always something new
the files in your head, you take them to bed
you’re never ever through
and they’ve been working all day, all day, all day!
There’s a five minute break and that’s all you take
for a cup of cold coffee and a piece of cake
Matthew and son, the work’s never done
there’s always something new
the files in your head, you take them to bed
you’re never ever through
and they’ve been working all day, all day, all day!
He’s got people who’ve been working for fifty years
no one asks for more money cause nobody dares
even though they’re pretty low and their rent’s in arrears
Matthew and son, Matthew and son
Matthew and son, Matthew and son
and they’ve been working all day, all day, all day!
Matthew and son, Matthew and son
Matthew and son, Matthew and son
Matthew and son, Matthew and son
Matthew and son, Matthew and son
Matthew and son, Matthew and son
Matthew and son, Matthew and son”.
————————————————
Cat Stevens, Matthew and son – 2:46
(Cat Stevens)
Album: Matthew and Son (1967)
Album: The Very Best of Cat Stevens (1990, raccolta)
Album: The Very Best of Cat Stevens (2000 edition, raccolta)
Album: The Very Best of Cat Stevens (2003 UK edition, raccolta)
Singolo: “Matthew and Son / Granny” (1967)
Per altri testi, traduzioni e commenti, guarda la discografia completa di Cat Stevens.
Per segnalare errori su testi o traduzioni, o semplicemente per suggerimenti, richieste d’aiuto e qualunque altra curiosità, potete scriverci all’indirizzo quality@infinititesti.com.
————————————————
Significato e citazioni.
“Matthew and Son” is a single written, composed, and performed by Cat Stevens. It was selected as the title song for his 1967 debut album. Stevens was a newly signed teenage singer-songwriter, who performed to elaborate arrangements quite different from the skiffle which had, in part, inspired him to begin writing and performing.
The song remains Cat Stevens‘ highest charting single in the British Isles, reaching Number 2 in the UK and Number 3 in Ireland in early 1967. The song, according to Stevens, took its name from the tailor, Henry Matthews, who made suits for Stevens, who thought up the story of the worker who is the main character in the song. Stevens later commented, “I had a girlfriend, and she was working for this big firm, and I didn’t like the way that she had to spend so much of her time working. The riff seemed to fit the words, Matthew and Son. There was a bit of social comment there about people being slaves to other people”. The song was covered by the band The Delgados in a 2002 Peel session and included on their 2006 collection The Complete BBC Peel Sessions. The song’s verse sounds similar to Tears For Fears‘ 1982 single “Mad World“. Yusuf/Cat made a reference to this at a concert on his 2016 tour while playing ‘Matthew and Son‘, inserting the lyrics ‘I think it’s kind of funny, I think it’s kind of strange, yes I think it’s kind of funny, that this sounds the same!‘.
The song is about a business called Matthew And Son; workers there, some of whom have fifty years of experience with the business, are wage slaves, and because all of them are too apathetic and/or too timid to do so, none of them dare ask for raises, or promotions to higher-paying work, despite a commonality of financial hardship. (“He’s got people who’ve been working for fifty years | No-one asks for more money ’cause nobody dares | Even though they’re pretty low and the rent’s in arrears.“) They receive few breaks in their routine, and their food is generally poor. (“There’s a five-minute break | And that’s all you take | For a cup of cold coffee and a piece of cake.“) The kind of business in which Matthew And Son engages is not specified in the lyrics. Most likely we can assume that Matthew and Son is an office in the city. (“The files in your head, you take them to bed, you’re never ever through“).
The song appears on the soundtrack of Michael Apted‘s Stardust“.
(Wikipedia, voce Matthew and Son)
————————————————
InfinitiTesti è un sito amatoriale che propone traduzioni e revisioni di testi musicali da tutto il mondo. I nostri lavori sono disponibili nelle pagine Traduzioni e Discografie, o si può far riferimento anche all’Indice Generale, suddiviso in canzoni Italiane e Straniere. Per maggiori approfondimenti in merito ai nostri percorsi e alle nostre Rassegne, si può leggere la sezione dedicata agli Speciali. Per ricevere in tempo reale tutti gli ultimi post pubblicati, si possono sottoscrivere i Feed RSS di InfinitiTesti. Per collaborare in qualunque forma con la redazione, si può far riferimento alla pagina Contatti.
————————————————
————————————————
Brano proposto da: Arturo Bandini
Direttore: Arturo Bandini (direttore@infinititesti.com)
Responsabile Quality: Arturo Bandini (ad interim) (quality@infinititesti.com)
Segretaria di Redazione: Arianna Russo (segreteria@infinititesti.com)
————————————————