Were Zager and Evans right?
In the Year 2525...
Thank you for joining me for this Sunday Special commentary.
Today’s song in called In the Year 2525. It was written by Zager & Evans in 1969. I realize that quite a few of my readers will recognize this song because it was popular when they were young (like me). If so, you probably know the lyrics forward and backward. In that case, please close this window and go water the plants or play with the cat. If you’re not familiar with this song or are here to practice reading and to learn more vocabulary, keep reading.
For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.
The Song
(473 words)
In the 1960s, not only in the U.S. but in many places around the world, young people in particular were worried about how human beings were developing. This was a time of student uprisings on every continent on the planet, calling for improvements to their educational systems, an end to the war in Vietnam, and the end of authoritarian rule.
Rachel Carson had written her book Silent Spring on the dangers of pesticides and chemicals that were being released into the atmosphere, earth, and water systems. It was the beginning of the environmental movement. Yes, “eco” started more than 60 years ago!
The U.S. was in a space race with the (then) Soviet Union. There were many technical advances in computers, robots, satellites, LEDs, and we were in the very early stages of the internet.
Things were changing fast. The world seemed much smaller because when you turned on your television, you received instant images from distant countries.
These changes caused people to question the meaning of our existence.
This song expresses the fear that we were headed down a very negative path.
The lyrics talk about the future, increasing 1, 010 years at a time, 2525, 3535, 4545, etc.
In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find…
The song imagines the world thousands of years from now. There will be no need to tell the truth or lies because everything you think, do and say is in the pill you took today.
You won’t need your teeth, won’t need your eyes
You won't find a thing to chew, nobody's gonna look at you
Machines will do all the work, so humans will have nothing to do. There will be no need for a husband or wife. People will choose their children from test tubes.
By the year 7510, God might come and look at what we have done. He might decide we have done a good job, or He might decide to tear it down, and start again.
Near the end of the song, the singer gives a gloomy summary of man’s existence:
In the year 9595
I’m kinda wondering if man is gonna be alive
He’s taken everything this old earth can give
And he ain’t put back nothing
In the end, the song starts repeating the cycle. Perhaps the songwriter thought that God had decided to start over.
In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find…
Right now, we are in a period somewhat similar to that of the 1960s. AI (ChatGPT) is progressing by leaps and bounds, traditional methods and systems and economies are being questioned and contested. Nature is fighting back against our excesses. We could ask the same question they asked back in 1969.
As human beings, where are we headed?
VOCABULARY
uprising 蜂起
authoritarian rule 権威主義支配
pesticides 農薬
atmosphere 大気
advances 進歩
satellites 人工衛星
existence 存在
test tubes 試験管
gloomy 暗い
contested 唱えられている
excesses 行き過ぎ
Photo by Andy Kelly (Unsplash.com)