Talk:The Near Future

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I swore I heard somewhere that the original tune was actually a Christian hymn. Has anyone heard this? Czolgolz (talk) 02:17, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

How Dry I Am source tune.

The hymn you are thinking of is probably Oh Happy Day by Phillip Doddridge, but the tune is even older. There's an article about it here at Wikipedia.

A midi version of the song is available at:

http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/O_Happy_Day/

Gamewriter (talk) 15:53, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

The "How Dry I Am" musical sequence

“How Dry I Am” has come to represent what may be the single most widely used four-note sequence to begin a popular song. The notes, in the key of C, are G4-C5-D5-E5. In any key, the notes, based on their position in the major scale, are 5-8-9-10.

The idea that “How Dry I Am” is based on an old spiritual is probably valid. A scan through a church hymnal may reveal dozens of songs and hymns with that same beginning sequence. A walk through titles of popular songs finds even more. Examples include:

Title (first line lyrics) Sequence Composer

You are my sunshine 5-8-9-10-10 Davis and Charles Mitchell, The Rice Brothers. How High the Moon (Somewhere there’s music….) 5-8-9-9-10 Harry Warren. The Nearness of You (It’s not the pale moon….) 5-8-9-10-12- Hoagy Carmichael. What Kind of Fool Am I 5-8-9-9-10-10 Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley. Don’t Fence Me In (Oh give me land, lots of land) 5-8-9-10-10-9-10 Cole Porter. O Tannenbaum, My Tannenbaum 5-8-8-8-9-10-10-10. (Oh) Maryland, My Maryland (5) 8-8-8-9-10-10-10. High Noon Theme (Do not forsake me oh my darling) 5-8-9-10-8-11-10-9-8 Dimitri Tiomkin. Always (I’ll be loving you, always..) 5-6-8-9-10-12-10 Irving Berlin. I’ve Got a Crush On You (Introduction: How glad the many millions..) 5-8-9-10-9-11-10 George and Ira Gershwin. All the Things You Are (Introduction: Time and again I’ve longed for adventure..) 5-5-5-8-9-10-11-10-9-8 Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II. Nessun Dorma (Ma il mio mistero é) (5)-8-9-10-9-8-9-7-6 Puccini (Turandot). The Water is Wide 5-8-9-10- 17th Century Scott/English folk song.

In some songs the 5 note is implied, or, as in Nessun Dorma, it is played by the orchestra. Other variations include 5-8-10-12 (Forget Your Troubles and Just Get Happy), 5-6-7-8-9-10 (She Dances Overhead), and 5-8-9-10minor-9-8-6-5-(At Last (my love has come alive)).

The “How Dry I am” sequence. There are many more out there, if one listens. Rtrsr (talk) 00:02, 20 October 2008 (UTC)

• • That's all individual research, and without a secondary source, it's not suitable for Wikipedia. Near-matches, "implied" matches, and non-matches make the claims eve more dubious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.68.134.1 (talk) 14:40, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Move "How Dry I Am" to its own article.

The two songs "The Near Future" and "How Dry I Am" deserve separate articles. They are not the same song. There are more "How Dry I Am"s than Berlin's version, although his was probably the basis for the later ones. I'll wait a few weeks and then do this if no one objects... Merphant (talk) 07:10, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

The Water Is Wide?

Isn't this the same tune as that song? Isn't rather, it just that Berlin (or whomever) wrote new lyrics to that traditional tune? Or am I completely wrong? Jsharpminor (talk) 05:35, 16 October 2014 (UTC)

Nevermind. Two minutes' research shows me How Wrong I Am. Jsharpminor (talk) 05:39, 16 October 2014 (UTC)

Reorganization and development

I have added some headings and subheadings to make it easier to develop this article further. In an admittedly short (15 min) research window, I couldn't find much verifiable information on Berlin's actual version "The Near Future", although there is more on "How Dry I Am" in terms of both its origins and its legacies, particularly in popular culture. Behemothing (talk) 21:06, 21 April 2015 (UTC)