"Father and Son" by Cat Stevens

Cafe Society
1

Is this a story that actually happened to Cat Stevens or was it just a ballad that was a reflection of the culture of the 70s (idealistic naive youth trying to follow their dreams vs stable, buttoned down adults who were products of the great depression & ww2) with no real basis in a real life event?

On another note what is the story behind ‘no son of mine’ by Genesis? Did that actually happen to Phil Collins or one of the Genesis members?

2

To me I thought it was mainly just a song about the nature of fathers and sons. The father is calm and wise. The son is passionate. He believes no one can possibly understand him. It doesn’t sound so much like they are talking to each other as they are both telling their story to the artist.