"In The Year 2525" - Zager & Evans, 1969

The 60's were a unique time both musically and culturally.  One of the aims of this project is to uncover musical elements that contribute to a song's success.  While cultural elements are undoubtedly a factor in how high a song reaches on the Billboard Hit 100 chart, I am choosing to gloss that part over, believing that a good song is indeed a good song, regardless of when, why or how it became popular.  Which brings us to "In The Year 2525."

On the first listen (and the 2nd through 8th), I was perplexed as to how this song could have possibly reached no.1 and stay there for 6 weeks!  In part, the cultural climate of the times, I am certain, played a large role in this song's popularity (more on that in Lyrics).  But as I started to transcribe vocal parts and listen close to what was actually happening, the musical picture became more clear.  "In The Year 2525" utilizes musical techniques we have seen in so many other no.1 hit songs.  As I uncovered these techniques, it's easy to see why, musically anyway, this song made such a big impact.

July 12 - August 16, 1969: "In The Year 2525" by Zager & Evans strikes fear into the heart of man, going on a six week run at no.1 and then disappearing from the charts shortly there after, never to be heard from again. 

Upon first glance, the data for this song does not look unusual.  There is about an octave vocal range, familiar intervals, typical instrumentation for the times and a form with multiple sections....oh wait.....12 verses!?!?!

This song is a classic example of strophic form, or singing every verse of the text to the same music.  To be fair, there are slight variations in the melody, but for the most part, we get the same thing 11 times (the 12th time fades out quickly, but it's there).

How can you keep a song with the same music interesting for 11+ verses???  Zager & Evans accomplish this in a few ways.  First, the song starts in a free, rubato tempo.  Then, the band kicks in for the interlude (I) to set up the groove we hear for a majority of the tune.

Another way they keep things moving are through key changes.  This tune modulates through 3 different keys, each maintaining the same chord progression.  This happens in the second and third interlude sections.  The modulations up a 1/2 step really help to build tension, playing nicely off of the lyrics.

In verses 9 and 10, the drums cut out and we return to a free feel, similar to the intro.  This free tempo section is actually more rushed than the intro, so even though it feels like we are slowing down, the sense of urgency, again playing off the lyrics, keep the suspense high.  These two verse (V'9, V'10) are unique also due to the lyrics; the only verses in the song to not use the hook of "in the year ____."

To follow up on a topic I have traversed in other analyses ("Old Town Road," "I Gotta Feeling," and "Genie In A Bottle"), we could argue the song has a refrain.  A refrain could indicate a repeated section of music or a repeated lyric.  Think of "this land was made for you and me" being the refrain in "This Land Is Your Land," occurring in both the verse and chorus sections.  "In the year ____" is sort of a refrain, repeating 10 times throughout the song.

Chord Progressions 

Like so many songs "on the 9's," this one is made up of one unchanging chord loop.  We hear it in the intro played freely on a Mariachi sounding guitar and then more rocking in the verses.  Here is the start to verse 2, in tempo, set up by the guitar:

verse 2 -5 changes

This progression is a minor key staple!   i - bVII - bVI - V

There many songs that use this, like "All Along the Watchtower (Dylan/Hendrix)," "Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)," "Stray Cat Strut (Stray Cats)," "Love Song (The Cure)," and many many others.  The strong V- i motion keeps the tonal center intact among the other chords.

The bass line propels the song with pulsing 8th notes and a sly little turnaround:

bass line example

Each chord gets this basic treatment.  There's chromatic motion at the end of the first bar, replaced with pentatonic motion before moving to the next chord in the second bar.

The song modulates twice, going up to A minor and then Bb minor, maintaining the progression.  We have seen repeated chord progressions in nearly every song analyzed.  Modulations do not happen so often though.  In fact, "Hello, I Love You" by the Doors, no.1 just a year prior to this song, used a modulation to break up the repeated chord progression.  60's music man, so trippy!

Melody 

Strophic form can get redundant, using the same melody and chord progression, changing only the lyrics.  While this song certainly has lyrics that keep one engaged, the melody helps the cause with a few interesting nuances.

The song starts freely with guitar, strings, trumpet and vocals.  Here is the first verse, which has a call and answer between the vocals and trumpet:  *note:  all vocal parts are written out 1 octave higher than they sound.....who wants to look at a bunch of ledger lines??

verse 1

The melodic motif is set up clearly, with this R - 2nd - min3rd pattern, answered by the trumpet on the upper part of the scale.  On the F# chord, we hear 3rd - 2nd - R - 3rd, a reverse of the opening statement.  The E chord gets the same treatment (3-2-R-2-3) with a similar trumpet call on the upper scale notes.  The D# chord gets away from opening intervals and hits A# -B- A#, 5th, b6 and 5th of D#.  He does dip down to the G natural (F double sharp), or major 3rd of D# here, which pulls up to the tonal center for the 2nd verse. 

When the band kicks into verse 2, we hear a great harmony that enhances the hook.

verse 2

The 2nd verse begins the same as the intro, but then develops rhythms and melodies.  Over the F# chord, we see use of the 3rd and 5th, instead of 3-2-R as in the intro.  the E chord uses 3-2-R with the D# focusing again on the 5th of the D# chord.

Also notice above the 4th and 6th measures.  In m4, the melody lowers down to the F# and in m6, it goes down to the E.  Now look at the 4th and 6th measures in verse 3:

verse 3

 Here, the phrases end on A# and G#, higher than in the previous verse.  This subtle nuance gives the melody a flowing feel, preventing things from going stagnant.  As we head into verse 4, we see a mix of these melodic choices from previous verses in m4 and m6.

verse 4

This tweaking of pitch and rhythm happens through each verse.  When we arrive in verse 8, the melody climaxes with the highest notes in both lead and harmony vocals:

verse 8

 The end of this verse also contains a "whoa oh oh," which happens previous to this in verses 7 and 5, another example of a small change that keeps the melody fresh.  These "whoa oh oh's" occur before each modulation and before the 2nd rubato section.

Musical Sticking Points

This song masterfully takes repeated material and enhances with the addition and subtraction of musical elements.  This technique has been seen in just about every song analyzed "on the 9's."  Here is a verse by verse breakdown of those elements:

V1 (2525) - Freely - trumpet, strings, guitar

V2 (3535) - Tempo - + bass and drums

V3 (4545) - + sustained strings following chords

V4 (5555) - + Horns sustaining chords

V5 (6565) - + syncopation through the chords (strings or horns?) + "whoa oh oh"

verse 5 syncopation

Interlude - 4 measures - up 1/2 step in the second half.

V6 (7510) - + more developed horn syncopation

verse 6 horns ex.

V7 (8510) - Horn syncopation develops further + "whoa oh oh"

verse 7 syncopation ex.

Interlude - 2 measures, up 1/2 step

V8 (9595) - horns and strings continue to develop in rhythm and dynamics + "whoa oh oh"

V9/V10 - free tempo - guitar, bass and vocals with drums simmering in the background

V11 (2525) - Full elements

V12 (3535) - fades early into 3rd bar

Though each verse is similar, no verse is exactly the same.  The element of continuous development help to keep this relatively simple song progressing towards the finish, sneakily mixing around melodic and rhythmic elements the entire time.

Lyrics

In my opinion, this is the musical element that puts this song over the top in.  I suggest you watch the lyric video linked above or view the lyrics here.

The basic gist: what will life be like in the year 2525?  How about 3535, ad so on and so forth?  With the passing of each millennia, man's prognosis grows more grim.  In this bleak future, machines and science take credit for most of our human-like activity and we completely deplete Earth's resources.  Eventually God makes an appearance and contemplates some sort of Judgement day level event.

These lyrics are completely terrifying in their Orwellian prophecies of doom.  Just as "man's reign is through" and you think the doom is over, it restarts with "in the year 2525," begging our attention and making us rethink choices to prevent this future.  Though in a few instances, there are actually moments of proven prophecy.  Consider the 5th verse:

In the year 6565

Ain't gonna need no husband, won't need no wife

You'll pick your sons, pick your daughters too

From the bottom of a long glass tube

All of these societal choices are certainly common place in 2020.  Let's hope in the next x-1,000 years we will still be utilizing our teeth and eyes.

I would imagine the in your face nature of the lyrics, at a time when people where questioning man's motives in the wake of war and the Hippie movement in general, would have gotten many interested in the song, which apparently, is exactly what happened.    

If "In The Year 2525" came out today,  I think lyrically, it would be a huge turnoff.  These lyrics would probably be deemed "too cliche" and "too niche" in our hyper-categorical views of everything.  Musically though, it might have a chance.  It's fun to think of the question "if song ____ came out in the year ____, would it still be popular?"  That's a blog for another day!

Common Threads

Comparing "In The Year 2525" with other songs "on the 9's," we see several commonalities.

• Hook that uses the title of the song
• Repeated melodic themes
• Texture changes through instrumental additions and subtractions

This song is notably similar to others in this round for the use of extra musical elements throughout the arrangement.  Like so many other songs, little instrumental bits are sprinkled in to make similar sections feel different.  Musical development through slight variation has been a unifying factor in all songs analyzed.  People love surprises, but only if they are not too surprising.   When songs slightly vary some aspect, this type of sweet spot surprise is achieved.  

So even if this song is lyrically way out there, musically it's not so different.  It's popularity,  though largely influenced by the current time, has to be somewhat rooted in familiar musical sensibilities that people can connect with. 

Final Takeaways

Zager & Evans are a bonafide one hit wonder.  They hit no.1 in the US and UK and never charted on the top 100 again.  They tried, but their other songs, dealing with rape and religion, did not take off. [1] I guess the old adage "timing is everything" is true.

I like this song on many levels.  I enjoy the lyrics as they paint a dystopian picture that modern society perpetuates in TV and movies all the time.  This is a slightly different take on some common tropes and caught me off guard.  I also like the music.  The theme I have been observing "on the 9's" involving layered instruments over a single chord progression are front and center in this one.  There is so much evolution of melodies and instrument parts as well as tempo shifts and moments of tension.  

The hook in this one is very strong.  I asked a few people who would have been youngsters when this song came to sing a bar.  All of them instantly came out with "in the year 2525," sang at full tempo with wreckless abandon.  It's interesting to me that this lyric happens once in the beginning, at the slow tempo and again at the very end.  I guess the year doesn't matter, just the simple minor scale setup. 

What do you think of "In The Year 2525?"  If you have never heard it, please listen and give some thought to the lyrics.  I'm still floored this song sat at no.1 for 6 weeks!

Up next time, the last stop in this tour of "the 9's."  August 10th - 17th, 1959 - "A Big Hunk O' Love" By Elvis Presley and the Jordanaires.  

I am certain I do not know this song.  I have expected to see Elvis pop up on this list and am moderately excited to digging into "The King of Rock and Roll."  Stay tuned!

  

[1]https://www.waybackattack.com/zagerandevans.html