What is I.G.Y.?

I have always been intrigued by these lyrics:

Standing tough under stars and stripes
We can tell
This dream's in sight
You've got to admit it
At this point in time that it's clear
The future looks bright
On that train all graphite and glitter
Undersea by rail
Ninety minutes from New York to Paris
Well by seventy-six we'll be a.o.k.

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free

Get your ticket to that wheel in space
While there's time
The fix is in
You'll be a witness to that game of chance in the sky
You know we've got to win
Here at home we'll play in the city
Powered by the sun
Perfect weather for a streamlined world
There'll be spandex jackets for everyone

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free

On that train all graphite and glitter
Undersea by rail
Ninety minutes from New York to Paris
(more leisure for artists everywhere)
A just machine to make big decisions
Programmed by fellows with compassion and vision
We'll be clean when their work is done
We'll be eternally free and eternally young

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free

These lyrics were written and sung by Donald Fagen in 1982, in his first solo album after Steely Dan.  The title of the song is "I.G.Y.".



What is I.G.Y.?  It stands for International Geophysical Year, which ran from July 1957 to December 1958.  The purpose was international scientific research into earth sciences, such as gravity, geomagnetism, meteorology, cosmic rays, ionospheric physics, seismology and solar activity.

Both the United States and the Soviet Union launched satellites into space during the year.  Also, discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts and mid-ocean submarine ridges, confirming plate tectonics.  An international body participated in an 18-month study of Antarctic science.  Halley Research Station was founded in 1957.  The Amundsen-Scott South Pole station was was erected in 1957.  The work in Antarctica resulted in the Antarctic Treaty, which called for the use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes and cooperative scientific research.

In the song, Fagen mentions solar-powered cities, spandex, undersea rail from New York to Paris, and recreational space travel, all of which were either invented or predicted during the I.G.Y.  Now, in 2013 some are indeed working to bring about space tourism and an undersea Atlantic Tunnel.

Not many songs have impelled me to look more deeply into the lyrics and learn something in the process.  When he mentioned the "trains all of graphite and glitter" and "that wheel in space" and "a just machine to make big decisions, programmed by fellows of compassion and vision" I had to pay attention.  It sounded so hopeful for the future.  It would indeed be "a beautiful world" and a "glorious time to be free".