Talk:The Near Future

Untitled

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)[reply]

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)[reply]

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)[reply]

- 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)[reply]

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)[reply]

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)[reply]

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

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)[reply]