In The Year 2525 – Zager & Evans – ZagerEZPlayGuitars
Denny Zager of
http://www.zagerguitar.com
Early performance of Zager and Evans.
Denny doesn’t have this video on his web site but I do!
“In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)” is a #1 hit song from 1969 by the Lincoln, Nebraska duo Zager and Evans which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the six weeks commencing July 12, 1969 and also reached number one in the UK the following month,reaching #1 on 26 August 1969 for 3 weeks.
Zager and Evans were a Lincoln, Nebraska rock-pop duo of the late 1960s and early 1970s named after its two members, Denny Zager and Rick Evans, who met at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Artists Dave Trupp and Mark Dalton backed up the duo.
The song describes a nightmarish vision of the future as man’s technological inventions gradually dehumanize him. The overriding theme is of a world doomed by its passive acquiescence to and overdependence on its own overdone technologies. The song also references examples of technologies that were not fully developed but were known to the public in 1969, such as robots, as well as future technology that would come into existence long after being prophesied in the song, the science of test tube babies and genetic selection by parents of their future children. Such a concept had been explored in a few science fiction novels but had not yet been mentioned in the mainstream media until “In The Year 2525″ was released in 1969.
It opens with the words “In the year 2525, If man is still alive, If woman can survive, They may find…”. Subsequent verses pick up the story at 1010-year intervals from 2525 to 6565. Disturbing predictions are given for each selected year. In the year 3535, for example, all of a person’s actions, words and thoughts will be preprogrammed into a daily pill.
The final dated chronological verse is, “In the year 9595, I’m kinda wonderin’ if Man is gonna be alive. He’s taken everything this old Earth can give, and he ain’t put back nothing, whoa-whoa…,” making specific the underlying environmental message of the song.
Denny Zager nowadays has his own Guitar Instruction website on :
http://www.zagerguitar.com
He and his son Dennis Jr. also designed & set up his own brand of beautiful and easy to play guitars until he somewhat retired in 2008 from doing that but he says that new beginner guitars will now be awailable in music stores as of June ‘09. Also he has inexpensive guitar lessons for about $8/mos (if a person signs for a year) on his website.
Their excellent fingerstyle lessons and I am currently doing those.
LYRICS:
In the year 2525
If man is still alive
If woman can survive they may find
In the year 3535
Ain’t gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do and say
Is in the pill you took today
In the year 4545
Ain’t gonna need your teeth, won’t need your eyes
You won’t find a thing to chew
Nobody’s gonna look at you
In the year 5555
Your arms hanging limp at your sides
Your legs got nothing to do
Some machine’s doing that for you
In the year 6565
Ain’t gonna need no husband, won’t need no wife
You’ll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long glass tube, whoa-oh
In the year 7510
If God’s a-comin’ He oughta make it by then
Maybe He’ll look around Himself and say
Guess it’s time for the judgment day
In the year 8510
God is gonna shake His mighty head
He’ll either say I’m pleased where man has been
Or tear it down and start again, whoa-oh
In the year 9595
I’m kinda wonderin’ if man is gonna be alive
He’s taken everything this old Earth can give
And he ain’t put back nothin’, whoa-oh
Now it’s been ten thousand years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what he never knew
Now man’s reign is through
But through eternal night
The twinkling of starlight
So very far away
Maybe it’s only yesterday
In the year 2525
If man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find
In the year 3535 {fade}
LYRICS
Duration : 0:3:9
[youtube yWxGGyV_YRA]
great song, my dad …
great song, my dad used to play it all the time when i was young.
Thought, execution, …
Thought, execution, a great tune, one of the most well rounded musical compositions I’ve ever heard.
Denny Zager, Rick Evans – I, for one, hear you.
Music just isn’t …
Music just isn’t the same as it used to be. I am only 24 but I love this song. It has a lot more soul than the crap people put out today. Do you think people will listen to rap in 40 or 50 years and think “Wow now THAT is a classic with some soul!”?
Probably, Apple …
Probably, Apple will be out, and then MANGO shall be IN!!!
in my 40’s..i …
in my 40’s..i remember my dad playing this on reel to reel…the tune is so beautiful, i used to cry when i heard it..listen to the background instruments.
great song really …
great song really make’s one think about tomorrow
great song it …
great song it really make’s one think about tomorrow
I bought this album …
I bought this album a little while ago, it’s awesome! These guys are extremely underrated. This is a great song, but they had so many other great songs as well that deserve recognition.
love this song… …
love this song…such a top 60s classic!
Denny is the one …
Denny is the one without the beard.
Which one of the …
Which one of the duo is Denny Zager? I am just asking.
Wonder what kind of …
Wonder what kind of neat products Apple will put out in the year 2525…
Was looking for …
Was looking for this. Awesome!!!
my hometown was …
my hometown was lincoln, too. Zager had a tv repair shop for many years in lincoln (after his fame).
this old world won’t make it to 2525, let alone 9595! it’s still a great song!
obviously
obviously
Lincoln, Nebraska’s …
Lincoln, Nebraska’s biggest musical group.
was denkt ihr …
) dann stecken sie euch bei der geburt einen empfänger im arsch !
was denkt ihr denn wie das weitergeht oder seit ihr so naiv ?? also wartet mal noch 20 jahre ab !
What an amazing …
What an amazing song… and his site is cool, too!!!!! ~Sharon
Its kinda scary …
Its kinda scary that some of the stuff they says is alrdy happening, machines doing stuff instead of us, test tube babies and genetic engineering, neural modifications via pills, replacement of human parts with mechanical ones.
Yeah…they’re both …
Yeah…they’re both very much alive. Denny Zager has a guitar studio in Lincoln. He was my neighbor as a kid. Richie Evans is in Los Angeles and is still active in the recording industry.
As a side note, they both HATED performing this song in later years. Grew too tired of it, I suppose.
Z&E I believe wrote …
Z&E I believe wrote this song(?) and are from Lincoln, Nebraska
according to …
according to Wikipedia, Denny Zager is alive, and Evans isn’t dead–so, I guess that’s a Yes.
wonder if these …
wonder if these guys are still alive
tnx so much
i ve …
tnx so much
i ve been looking for this for ages
tnx sooo much
This song was …
This song was number one the day i was born 26th aug 1969… how time FLYS!