Verities & Balderdash was Harry Chapin’s fourth solo album and brought him to the peak of his commercial success. It is still available as a CD, but all the tracks with the exception of Halfway to Heaven feature on various compilations.
Cats in the Cradle is by far Harry’s most successful song in terms of the singles charts making no. 1 in the billboard chart in U.S. in December 1974. It is also his best-remembered track by all those outside the main Harry fan base. This is also borne out by the fact that it has been recorded by a number of other artists such as Judy Collins, Ugly kid Joe and Ricky Skaggs. The lyrics were those of Sandy Chapin and Harry put them to music. Unlike some Harry stories, the theme of the song is crystal clear and relatively short, which no doubt was the reason for its substantial commercial success. Essentially it is the story of a father too busy at work to give his son the attention he craves and deserves. As father grows older and in need of his son’s attention, the son takes the uncaring position, turning the tables completely on his ageing father. There is a nursery rhyme element to it and the story ends neatly if unhappily.
I wanna learn a love song tells the story of how Harry’s relationship with Sandy began, but as with all of Harry’s supposedly autobiographical stories, there was according to him about on average of about 60% reality in them. It tells of a "down on his luck" musician giving guitar lessons to a lonely woman whose husband was frequently away on business. As the lessons continued the bond between them grew until he ends the song "I guess you know I stayed". With a strong melody and a catchy title chorus, it should have confirmed Harry’s arrival as a leading chart performer, but perhaps the storyline which was not particularly cryptic was too "near the knuckle" for the average single buyer.
Shooting star is a tale of a dreamer who was more concerned with chasing a dream than in everyday life – a character touched by genius. This could have applied to a number of the characters in the older generations of Harry’s family, which was rich in artistic, bohemian members. It is generally believed to relate to Kenneth Burke, his maternal grandfather. Pat Benatar memorably performed the song at the 1987 memorial concert in New York’s Carnegie Hall.
30,000 pounds of bananas was perhaps the song that gained the most notoriety and not surprisingly was never a candidate for release as a single, being arguably in bad taste. Telling the story of a lorry carrying its fruity load through Scranton, Pennsylvania which crashed, hurtling downhill with inevitable disastrous consequences for both the driver and his cargo, it was clearly a runner in the bad taste charts. Apparently Harry’s original attention was to show how the little individual became just a number to the authorities, but it gained, to use a cliché – a cult song, proving a showstopper at Harry’s concerts with a great deal of audience participation. The widow of the driver on whose accident the story was based took exception to the song and succeeded in persuading Harry not to perform the song in Scranton. Rumours a couple of years ago that Scranton police stopped any passing Harry fans from playing it on their car stereo are apparently unfounded.
She sings a song without words was dedicated to Sandy, as he recognises her role in bringing into his life a sense of stability and responsibility, allowing him to harness his talent.
What made America famous is a song often referred to by Harry in his concert appearances as one of his personal favourites. Based on an incident in Point Lookout, the town where Harry first lived with Sandy after their marriage It tells the story of a group of hippies living in a house surrounded by the hostility of local society. A fire breaks out in the house. The alarm goes, but the firemen continue to entertain themselves, feeling that a delay might be a good way to allow rough justice to be done. Alone in feeling the responsibility of society, a plumber risks his life to rescue the victims. The rescuer and rescued take a grim view of the uncaring society represented by the firemen. This was a powerful story, which Harry felt could make a strong theatrical spectacle and he succeeded in securing a Broadway run, which gained some praise from critics, but which did not have a long run.
Vacancy is the tale of the motel manager, who sees all of life passing through his premises, as couples spend the night there. He is the lonely observer wishing that someone could take the vacancy that existss alongside him
Halfway to heaven could be described as "anthem for a mid-life crisis". The business man suffering a delay between trains contemplates his life. He is well brought up, taught not to stray from the straight and narrow. Successful in business, married to Mary for twenty years, father of two children, he now finds himself tempted by the office secretary and talks or dreams of reviving his decaying life through her. The lyric implies that he has been cheated by being morally obliged to lead a monogamous life – an amoral stance if ever there was one.
Six string orchestra is a jokey number that is at its most effective in concert, building a group around his guitar and telling the story in childlike tones with a catchy singalong chorus, as the bass, drum and strings join in. The Smothers Brothers performed it at the 1987 Carnegie Hall concert