The Future is Here, The Future is Now

"The Future is Here, The Future is Now" is a song that T.H. Culhane and Frank DiMassa created for their renewable energy educational campaigns. The song was taken on the road by the Circus Guy Musical Goodwill Ambassador program (performed by T.H., Mike and Andrew Culhane, Anais Mitchell, Ted Stern, Greg Ross, James Dean Conklin and Frank Marino) and performed in a series of solar and wind powered concerts at the Wadi Environmental Science Center in Egypt and throughout the country with the U.S. State Department Cultural Affairs Program. It was then performed in Kuwait during a series of tours that culminated with its performance for the Sabah family children (kids of the oil sheikhs) and their classmates in the Imax Theatre at the Kuwati Science Center. It was recently performed on KPFK radio's "Healthy Me, Healthy Planet" hosted by Sherry Beale.

The Future is Here
Words and Music copyright 2004 T.H. Culhane, Melodic-Mnemonics


(Starts with conga drums with implied D7 as fifth of the key, bass note descends E D, B A, G into a Gmaj7)
Spoken:
(Gmaj7) “Every day we live our lives oblivious to the  ( Gmaj6) deleterious effects of our actions,
as we (Em9) unwittingly and indiscriminately burn gas and oil (Em7) in our internal combustion engines, turbines and boilers.
(Am6) But the bell is tolling for these irresponsibly ( Am7) inefficient and unhealthy technologies,
and it is time we heeded the call of our mother earth…
(D7) ‘The stone age did not end because we ran out of stones’”… (D7b9)

(C7 with descending bass line)
Hey!
(G7 with descending bass line)
Check it out!
(C7 with ascending bass line)
I want to tell you about it!
(G7 with 1 5 8 arpeggio).


Because the (C7) future is (G7) here
Because the (C7) future is (G7) NOW
Because a (C7) few things are (G7) clear
No need to (Am) fear… (A7)
Just watch the (Bb) bad times disappear (D7)

Because the (C7) future is (G7)  wind
Because the (C7) future’s the (G7) sun
Because the (C7) future is (G7) green
The future’s (A7) clean
And there’s (Bb) enough for everyone… (D7)

Since (G7) Time Immemorial…
The Earth’s been making coal an oil
(C7) Sunshine stored in wood and fossil fuels
(G7) We’ve been dipping in the past, for energy that will not last.
(C7) An alien would think that we are fools
(G7) Cause all along we’ve had the choice
To use the sun sustainably
(C7) And make a brighter future for us all
(G7) We now have the technology
To free us from dependency
(C7) And wean us from the grip of foreign oil


Because the (C7) future is (G7) here
Because the (C7) future is (G7) NOW
Because a (C7) few things are (G7)  clear
No need to (A7) fear…
Just watch the (Bb) bad times disappear (D7)


(G7) Carbon was the enemy
an element in you and me
(C7) Sequestered by the flowers and the trees
But (G7) burned, it makes a mess of things
And a host of new carcinogens,
and (C7) all the global warming that we see
(G7) The future should be carbon-free
With new clean forms of energy
Like (C7) Hydrogen and Boro-Hydride Salts
(G7) Micro-Hydro, Wind and Sea
Geothermal and PV
You’ll (C7) see we don’t need carbon fuels at all.


(Eb7)Take a joy ride on the Hydrogen (Bbm) Highway
(Eb7) Check out all the wind farms by the (Bbm) road
A (Eb7) million solar roofs around the (Bbm) country
Are (F#7) shaving costs and handling peak (F7) loads…

(F#) We’ve got the power…
(Bbm) Tremendous power…
(F#) Plenty of power…
(Bbm) Clean and Green Power
There’ll (Dmaj7) never be a crisis here again… (D7)


(C7 with descending bass line)
Hey!
(G7 with descending bass line)
Check it out!
(C7 with ascending bass line)
                 I  like a clean future
                     (G7)
             That’ what I’m talkin’ about!

We DON’T (G7) NEED atomic plants, sir
Fuel Cells are the answer
(C7) They produce only pure water with their kilojoules
(G7) Screw the radiation and runaway inflation
(C7) Everyone can make their own clean fuel
By (G7) electrolyzing water, using sunlight and wind power
(C7) You can make your hydrogen in your own home
And (G7)  how to store the hydrogen? This has been the problem
But in (C7) fact we’ve had the answer all along
(G7) A liquid soap solution
That can clean up our pollution
(C7) It’s detergent, yes,
It’s BORAX, and it’s clean
(G7) It comes from desert sands
Produces H2 on demand
It can (C7) create the Hydrogen Economy (D7)

                      (D7b9! D7b9!  D7b9!)

Because the (C7)  future is (G7) here
Because the (C7) future’s the (G7) sun
Because the (C7) future is (G7) green
The future’s (A7) clean…
And there’s (Bb) enough for everyone (D7)
Shine on! (G)




Lyrics only:

The Future is Here
Words and Music copyright 2004 T.H. Culhane, Melodic-Mnemonics

Spoken:
“Every day we live our lives oblivious to the deleterious effects of our actions,
as we unwittingly and indiscriminately burn gas and oil in our internal combustion engines, turbines and boilers.
But the bell is tolling for these irresponsibly inefficient and unhealthy technologies,
and it is time we heeded the call of our mother earth…
‘The stone age did not end because we ran out of stones’”…


Because the future is here
Because the future is NOW
Because a few things are clear
No need to fear…
Just watch the bad times disappear

Because the future is wind
Because the future’s the sun
Because the future is green
The future’s clean
And there’s enough for everyone…

Since Time Immemorial…
The Earth’s been making coal an oil
Sunshine stored in wood and fossil fuels
We’ve been dipping in the past, for energy that will not last.
An alien would think that we are fools
Cause all along we’ve had the choice
To use the sun sustainably
And make a brighter future for us all
We now have the technology
To free us from dependency
And wean us from the grip of foreign oil


Because the future is here
Because the future is NOW
Because a few things are clear
No need to fear…
Just watch the bad times disappear


Carbon was the enemy an element in you and me
Sequestered by the flowers and the trees
But burned, it makes a mess of things
And a host of new carcinogens,
and all the global warming that we see
The future should be carbon-free
With new clean forms of energy
Like Hydrogen and Boro-Hydride Salts
Micro-Hydro, Wind and Sea
Geothermal and PV
You’ll see we don’t need carbon fuels at all.


Take a joy ride on the Hydrogen Highway
Check out all the wind farms by the road
A million solar roofs around the country
Are shaving costs and handling peak loads…

We’ve got the power…
Tremendous power…
Plenty of power…
Clean and Green Power
There’ll never be a crisis here again…


We DON’T NEED atomic plants, sir
Fuel Cells are the answer
They produce only pure water with their kilojoules
Screw the radiation and runaway inflation
Everyone can make their own clean fuel
By electrolyzing water, using sunlight and wind power
You can make your hydrogen in your own home
And how to store the hydrogen? This has been the problem
But in fact we’ve had the answer all along
A liquid soap solution
That can clean up our pollution
It’s detergent, yes,
It’s BORAX, and it’s clean
It comes from desert sands
Produces H2 on demand
It can create the Hydrogen Economy

Because the future is here
Because the future’s the sun
Because the future is green
The future’s clean…
And there’s enough for everyone
Shine on!