We'll Get Together Then

Transcript

OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

For a game titled We'll Get Together Then, let's welcome Adam Greenman and Jill Karliner.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: I said it sad like that, we'll get together then, because that is a line from the classic Harry Chapin "Cat's In The Cradle." You guys familiar with that song?

ADAM GREENMAN: Yep.

EISENBERG: OK, Jill, you're a child psychologist, right?

JILL KARLINER: I am.

EISENBERG: Why does everyone cry when they hear that song?

KARLINER: (Laughter). I think it just tears at our heart about regret, about, you know, we don't stop to appreciate what's really important...

EISENBERG: Yeah.

KARLINER: ...Which is our families, our children. Time just goes by too quickly.

EISENBERG: Yeah.

KARLINER: Yeah.

EISENBERG: I know, what do we do about that?

KARLINER: Yeah.

GREENMAN: I'm crying now.

EISENBERG: Crying now (laughter).

KARLINER: I brought the house down.

EISENBERG: That's good, no. Adam, what's your favorite song to sing your kids?

GREENMAN: Usually death metal.

(LAUGHTER)

GREENMAN: No. Lately, we've been doing "Frozen." Lots and lots of...

EISENBERG: Oh, yeah.

GREENMAN: Too much "Frozen."

EISENBERG: Yeah, you got a couple boys, huh?

(LAUGHTER)

GREENMAN: A couple girls.

EISENBERG: A couple girls, that makes perfect sense. Jonathan, does the "Cat's In The Cradle" song make you cry?

JONATHAN COULTON, BYLINE: It does. It's actually - my dad when I was a kid used to sing it to me every time I refused to do something with him.

(LAUGHTER)

COULTON: But seriously, there is no better way to describe the joy of being a parent than to rewrite the lyrics of a song about a neglected boy who gets passive-aggressive revenge on his father. So we have rewritten the lyrics to "Cat's In The Cradle" to be about some traditional childhood games. Just ring in and tell us which ones I am singing about. Are you ready?

KARLINER: Ready.

GREENMAN: I think so.

COULTON: (Singing) The game arrived just the other day, put up the picture, and we started to play. He's a working mammal who likes to bray, spun around in a blind ballet. Holding in my hand a piece of you, I'm trying to put it where it goes, yeah. I'm trying to put it where it goes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

COULTON: Adam?

GREENMAN: "Pin The Tail On The Donkey"?

COULTON: That's right.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: It's like that donkey's being dragged to the slaughterhouse in this version.

COULTON: A lot of these games sound less fun when you describe them along with the melody to the song. (Singing) Well, we stood in a group and we faced ahead. She told us we should do whatever she said. Follow all the orders or you'll lose the game, but only if she says that name, yeah, only if she says that name.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

COULTON: Adam.

GREENMAN: "Mother, May I"?

COULTON: No, I'm afraid that's wrong. Not what we're looking for. Jill...

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

COULTON: ...Do you know what it is?

KARLINER: "Simon Says."

COULTON: "Simon Says" is the answer.

JOHN CHANESKI, BYLINE: That's right.

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: (Singing) With great regret I leave my seat. The music starts, and I find my feet. A giant circle walk around, until the moment when we all sit down. Then the silence falls, and it's plain to see, there's no seat here for me. Yeah, they didn't save a seat for me.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Oh my...

COULTON: Adam.

EISENBERG: ...God.

GREENMAN: "Musical Chairs."

COULTON: Yeah, that's the one.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: I'm going to listen to this episode right before I kill myself.

(LAUGHTER)

COULTON: (Singing) I grab some chalk so I could create a bunch of squares numbered one through eight. Round on top sure looked great, I threw a rock and it landed straight. As I hopped through, I thought the game was mine. Then I slipped and touched a line. Yeah, I can't believe I touched that line.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

COULTON: Adam.

GREENMAN: "Hopscotch."

COULTON: Hopscotch is correct. All right, this is your last clue here. (Singing) And we're sitting in a circle and we wait our turn, one of us is next for the waterfowl burn. You're calling me a gander but I don't know when, I'm going to chase you then. Yeah, you know I'm going to chase you then.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

COULTON: Jill.

KARLINER: "Duck, Duck, Goose."

COULTON: That is correct.

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: John Chaneski, how did our contestants do?

CHANESKI: Congratulations Adam, you're moving on to the final round. Way to go.

(APPLAUSE) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.