View source for The Near Future

{{Confusing|date=April 2025|talk=Talk:The Near Future#Separate and globalise the musical motif}}

{{Short description|Song written by Irving Berlin}}
{{otheruses|Near future (disambiguation)}}
"'''The Near Future'''" is a song written by [[Irving Berlin]] and performed in the ''[[Ziegfeld Follies of 1919]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/ziegfeld-follies-of-1919-394721#Songs |title=Ziegfeld Follies of 1919 |publisher=[[Internet Broadway Database]] |access-date=December 31, 2022 }}</ref> It is better known for the small part of its lyric that took on a life of its own: "'''How Dry I Am'''".
== Origins ==
The origins of the song and its components are somewhat obscure, as are the factors that differentiate "The Near Future" from "How Dry I Am".

=== Melody ===
The origin of the melody predates Berlin's song. The distinctive four-note motif was used by Ludwig van Beethoven in his Sonata, Op. 10 No. 3, published in 1798.  The motif is also used in ''[[Oh Happy Day]], ''the earliest known printing of which is in ''The Wesleyan Sacred Harp'' from Boston in 1855 (although the words to ''Oh Happy Day'' can be traced even further back to 1755).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = The Book of World-famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk|last = Fuld|first = James|publisher = Courier Corporation|year = 2000|pages = 279}}</ref> This melody is in turn attributed to English composer [[Edward F. Rimbault]].<ref name=":0" />

The notes' positions in the major scale are 5 < 1 < 2 < 3 as numbered diatonically and 8 < 1 < 3 < 5 as numbered chromatically (''e.g.'', G < C < D < E in C major, C < F < G < A in F major, and D < G < A < B in G major).{{audio|How Dry I Am.mid|Play}}

The transition of the melody from a hymn to a song associated with drinking caused some confusion. In one example from 1931, courthouse chimes playing "Oh Happy Day" were thought by "respectable Minnesotans" to be playing "How Dry I Am".<ref>{{Cite magazine|url = https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,752798,00.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233333/https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,752798,00.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 2016-03-03|title = Religion: O Happy Day|date = April 13, 1931|magazine = Time}}</ref>

=== Lyrics ===

[[File:"Now, Then, All Together!" by Bob Satterfield - "Mississippi Legislature Passes Dry Amendment to Constitution" "Nobody Knows How Dry I Am!!" in The Tacoma Times on January 16, 1918, Page 4.jpg|thumb|[[Bob Satterfield (cartoonist)|Bob Satterfield]] cartoon in ''[[The Tacoma Times]]'' (January 16, 1918), after the Mississippi legislature passed a dry amendment to the state constitution]]
The term "Dry" in the lyrics means abstinence from alcohol. While the lyrics are often associated with [[Prohibition in America]], the lyrics were written before 1920.
An early precursor to the lyrics was published in an 1874 edition of ''Gem of the West and Soldiers' Friend'', a journal of curious miscellany. The passage describes a "sleeping car adventure" in which "one lady exclaimed in a slow and solemn voice, 'Oh, how dry I am'" several times until someone brings her some water, after which "came the same solemn tones, 'Oh, how dry I was,'" much to the annoyance of the rest of the passengers on the train.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yQgSAAAAYAAJ&q=%22how+dry+i+am%22&pg=PA74|title = Sleeping Car Adventure|date = 1874|journal = Gem of the West and Soldiers Friend|volume = 8|page = 74}}</ref>

The phrase "how dry I am" had become structured into song and referred specifically to drinking alcohol by at least 1898, as one journal describes a college drinking song that goes: <blockquote>How dry I am, How dry I am!<br>God only knows How dry I am.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uuw5AQAAMAAJ&q=%22how+dry+i+am%22&pg=PA172|title = Editorial Department|last = Anonymous|date = 1898|journal = The Free Thought Magazine|volume = 16|page = 172}}</ref> </blockquote>

When the State of Kansas passed a Prohibition law in 1917, which was signed by the governor on "the 23rd" [of February or March] the legislature greeted the event by singing "How Dry I Am".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yYLTAAAAMAAJ&q=%22How+Dry+I+Am%22+Friends%27+Intelligencer&pg=PA139|title=Friends' Intelligencer|page=139|date=21 October 1917|publisher=Friends' Intelligencer Association|access-date=21 October 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref> This also strongly suggests that a song with these lyrics existed prior to Irving Berlin's treatment of the melody.

A 1919 book entitled ''Out and about: A Note-book of London in War-time'' describes a group of Americans drinking in London and singing "some excellent numbers of American marching-songs," including one described as "the anthem of the 'dry' States" whose lyrics were:<blockquote>Nobody knows how dry I am, How dry I am, How dry I am. <br>You don't know how dry I am, How dry I am, How dry I am.<br>Nobody knows how dry I am, And nobody cares a damn.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Out and about: A Note-book of London in War-time|last = Burke|first = Thomas|publisher = G. Allen & Unwin Limited|year = 1919|location = London|pages = [https://archive.org/details/outandaboutanot00burkgoog/page/n140 136]|url = https://archive.org/details/outandaboutanot00burkgoog|quote = how dry i am.}}</ref></blockquote>The 1921 musical comedy ''Up In The Clouds'' included a similar song entitled "How Dry I Am" with music by Tom A. Johnstone and words by Will B. Johnstone.<ref name=":0" />

== Musical influence ==
"How Dry I Am" (also widely heard in the variant form, "How Dry Am I") has come to represent a four-pitch sequence widely used to begin both popular and classical works.

Other songs influenced by the melody include [[Will B. Johnstone]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digital.library.ucla.edu/apam/librarian?ITEMID=SY118808|title=Archive of Popular American Music - Sheet Music Record|first=Curtis Fornadley, Henry|last=Chiong|work=ucla.edu}}</ref> and [[Benny Bell]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://faujsa.fau.edu/jsa/music_album.php?jsa_num=100193&queryWhere=jsa_num&queryValue=100193&select=bell&return=artist_album |title=Search Music-LP |access-date=2009-02-18 |archive-date=2009-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512182442/http://faujsa.fau.edu/jsa/music_album.php?jsa_num=100193&queryWhere=jsa_num&queryValue=100193&select=bell&return=artist_album |url-status=dead }}</ref> There is an old Greek song called Bufetzis (Μπουφετζής) written by [[Yiorgos Batis]] made with the music of "How Dry I Am". Composer, television producer, and humorist [[Allan Sherman#Later work|Allan Sherman]] included in his concert album ''Peter and the Commissar'' a [[Quodlibet (music)|quodlibet]] titled "Variations On 'How Dry I Am'" and quoting works ranging from "[[Home on the Range]]" to "[[The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (song)|The Flying Trapeze]]" to the final section of the ''[[William Tell (opera)#Overture|William Tell]]'' overture and the Russian military theme from Tchaikovsky's ''[[1812 Overture]]''.

The song is used as the theme of [[P. D. Q. Bach]]'s fugue in F major from The Short-Tempered Clavier (S. 3.14159265, easy as).

In a 1959 television broadcast titled "The Infinite Variety of Music", [[Leonard Bernstein]] found similarities between the opening notes of "How Dry I Am" and 22 other well-known melodies: the French song [[:fr:Il était une bergère]], the Moldau (Vltava) theme from Smetana's [[Má vlast]], the waltz from Lehár's [[The Merry Widow]], Handel's [[Water Music]], Schubert's [[Arpeggione Sonata]], the second movement of [[Symphony No. 2 (Beethoven)|Beethoven's Symphony No.2]], [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms)|Brahms's Piano Concerto No.1]], the ending of Strauss's [[Death and Transfiguration]], the [[nocturne]] from [[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn)|Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream]], the [[Simple Gifts]] melody used by [[Aaron Copland]] in [[Appalachian Spring]], the 1956 song [[The Party's Over (1956 song)|The Party's Over]] from the musical [[Bells Are Ringing (musical)|Bells Are Ringing]], Strauss's [[Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks]], the [[Westminster chimes]], [[Sweet Adeline (song)|Sweet Adeline]], the finale of [[Symphony No. 5 (Prokofiev)|Prokofiev's 5th symphony]], Wagner's [[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]], the finale of [[Symphony No. 1 (Brahms)|Brahms's symphony no.1]], Strauss's [[Salome (opera)|Salome]] and [[Der Rosenkavalier]], Beethoven's [[Piano Sonata No. 8 (Beethoven)|Pathétique Sonata]], the overture to Raymond by [[Ambroise Thomas]], and the finale of [[Symphony No. 5 (Shostakovich)|Shostakovich's fifth symphony]].<ref>{{cite AV media |title=The Infinite Variety of Music |date=1959 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRKw8MENoCs}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Leonard Bernstein |title=The Infinite Variety of Music |year=2007 |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn=978-1-57467-164-3}}</ref>

== Use in popular culture ==
This portion of the song...<blockquote>How dry I am, how dry I am<br>It's plain to see just why I am<br>No alcohol in my highball<br>And that is why so dry I am</blockquote>... became known for its ironic use as a drinking song in all manner of popular media, especially [[Warner Bros. cartoons]], in which the song became a stock substitute for the explicit mention of alcohol and/or drunkenness.  That use of the song necessitated removing any phrases in it that overtly mention drinking, leading to its frequently being condensed to these two lines:<blockquote>How dry I am, how dry I am<br>Nobody knows how dry I am... Hooow dryyy I aaaaaam!</blockquote>A [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]] [[clothes dryer]] from 1953 played the song when clothes were dry.<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=sFIEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22how+dry+i+am%22&pg=PA62 New 1953 Westinghouse Clothes Dryer]" (advertisement), ''Life'' (17 November 1952), 62.</ref>

Played in the opening montage of the 1932 film ''[[Three on a Match]]''.

The song is referenced in [[Richard Matheson]]'s 1954 novel ''[[I Am Legend (novel)|I Am Legend]]''.

The song is used in the plot of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "[[Mr. Denton on Doomsday]]", and is sung by [[Dan Duryea]].

The song is sung by actors [[Bill Macy]] and [[Conrad Bain]] on the September 22, 1975 episode of the television show ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'' titled “Rumpus in the Rumpus Room”.

The song was referenced in a lyric by [[Method Man]] in a [[Wu-Tang Clan]] ad for [[St. Ides]] malt liquor.

The [[Salvation Army]], to celebrate sobriety, uses the song (without lyrics) in both band and piano arrangements, in street concerts and meetings. This may be one reason for the raucous band arrangement of [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Rainy Day Women#12 & 35|Rainy Day Women #12 & 35]]" (a.k.a. "Everybody Must Get Stoned") from his album ''[[Blonde on Blonde]]''. Apparently the producer and Dylan agreed at 4:30 in the morning that they wanted the sound of a Salvation Army band.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ReCqCwAAQBAJ&q=%22How+Dry+I+Am%22+%22Salvation+Army%22&pg=PA86|title=This is the Sound of Irony: Music, Politics and Popular Culture|pages=85/86|first=Katherine L.|last=Turner|date=3 March 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317010548|access-date=21 October 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Homebrew Stew used it as a satirical arrangement with the retitled “How Dry I Am in Bird-in-Hand” which is included in his LP ''Folk Songs of Lancaster Co., PA''. His version was inspired by the [[Prohibition Party]]'s national convention which was held in [[Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania]] for the 2000 election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brubaker |first=Jack |date=November 12, 2023 |title=Prohibition Party convention here inspires take on 'How Dry I Am' |page=B3 |work=LNP{{!}}Lancaster Online |url=https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/prohibition-party-convention-here-inspires-how-dry-i-am-the-scribbler/article_784f2a34-7ffb-11ee-933a-f39e8da898c0.html}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090512184305/http://www.lyricstime.com/irving-berlin-the-near-future-lyrics.html "How Dry I Am" Lyrics]

{{Irving Berlin songs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Near Future, The}}
[[Category:1919 songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Irving Berlin]]
[[Category:Songs about alcohol]]