The Near Future

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The Near Future is the name of a song written by Irving Berlin in 1919. It is better known for the small part of its lyric that took on a life of its own: "How Dry I Am".

The term "Dry" in that time period meant abstinence from alcohol, and support of Prohibition. Those who took the opposite approach and/or view were often called "Wet". Prohibition became fact in 1920, in "the near future" after the song was issued.

This portion of the song...

How dry I am, how dry I am

It's plain to see just why I am

No alcohol in my highball

And that is why so dry I am

...became known for its ironic use, by people getting drunk and singing it, sometimes in harmony, in all manner of popular media, especially Warner Bros. cartoons. That usage necessitated removing the parts that overtly denied drinking, which tended to reduce the song to these two lines:

How dry I am, how dry I am

Nobody knows how dry I am... Hooow dryyy I aaaaaam!

On the other hand, the origin of the ditty “How Dry I Am” predates Berlin's song and the prohibition era. It is documented as a song being sung by day-laborers in 1907 and is certainly much older.^{[citation needed]}