The future 's so bright, I Gotta wear Shades - wikipedia The future 's so bright, I Gotta wear Shades `` The Future 's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades '' 7 '' U.S. single Single by Timbuk3 from the album Greetings from Timbuk3 Released 1986 Format 7 '' Length 3 : 21 Label I.R.S. Songwriter ( s ) Pat MacDonald Producer ( s ) Dennis Herring `` The Future 's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades '' is a song by Timbuk3. It is the opening track from their debut album, Greetings from Timbuk3. Released as the album 's first single in 1986, it was the band 's only significant mainstream hit. Contents 1 Background 2 Chart performance 3 Rejection of commercial licensing 4 References 5 External links Background The inspiration for the song, and the title specifically, came when Barbara MacDonald said to her husband singer / songwriter Pat MacDonald, `` The future is looking so bright, we 'll have to wear sunglasses ! '' But, while Barbara had made the comment in earnest -- it was the early ' 80s, the two had met and married and were starting a family, their first EP was coming, their book was filling up with gigs -- Pat heard the comment as an ironic quip and wrote down instead, `` The future 's so bright, I got ta wear shades. '' From there, the lyrics to the song were born, but not the song as it ended up in the minds of popular culture. While Pat wrote a song of a young nuclear scientist and his rich future, listening audiences heard a graduation theme song. Pat revealed on VH1 's 100 Greatest One - Hit Wonders of the 80s that the meaning of the song was widely misinterpreted as a positive perspective in regard to the near future. Pat somewhat clarified the meaning by stating that it was, contrary to popular belief, a `` grim '' outlook. While not saying so directly, he hinted at the idea that the bright future was in fact due to impending nuclear holocaust. The `` job waiting '' after graduation signified the demand for nuclear scientists to facilitate such events. Pat drew upon the multitude of past predictions which transcend several cultures that foreshadow the world ending in the 1980s, along with the nuclear tension at the height of the Cold War to compile the song. Two verses were written more explicitly portraying the ironic intent of the song. One went : Well I 'm well aware of the world out there, getting blown all to bits, but what do I care ? The other referred to a supporter of Ronald Reagan as `` a flaming fascist ''. However, they were omitted from the final recording because MacDonald felt they were too heavy - handed and obvious. When they performed the song on The Joan Rivers Show in 1989, the third verse they sang was similar to the former omitted verse. Similarly, the group 's EP Looks Like Dark to Me contains a slower version of the song with an additional verse, making clear the dark nature of the song 's intent : Blowin ' up the lab, Blowin ' the professor, Torn between two evils, I always pick the lesser. That same EP 's title track also refers back to this song : The future 's been bright for so long now, it looks like dark to me Chart performance The song was the group 's only major hit, reaching number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. Additionally, the song reached number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. Chart ( 1986 -- 1987 ) Peak position Australia ( Kent Music Report ) 18 Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) 23 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) 15 Ireland ( IRMA ) 11 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 29 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 21 US Billboard Album Rock Tracks 14 US Billboard Hot 100 19 US Cash Box 21 Rejection of commercial licensing The former members of Timbuk 3 have refused to license the song for commercials, including a $900,000 offer from AT&T and offers from Ford, the U.S. Army, and Bausch & Lomb for their Ray - Ban sunglasses. References ^ Jump up to : Moser, Margaret ( February 23, 2007 ). `` The Future 's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades ''. The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 9, 2011. ' Oh, the future 's so bright, we 'll have to wear sunglasses ! ' '' Kooyman teased. `` Pat heard me say it, but he heard it with irony so he wrote down, ' The future 's so bright I got ta wear shades. ' Jump up ^ Graff, Gary ( May 3, 1987 ). `` Timbuk 3 's anti-nuke ' Shades ' turns into misunderstood hit ''. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 15, 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Timbuk 3 -- Awards ''. AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 5, 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Official Singles Chart Top 100 ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 5, 2013. Jump up ^ Kent, David ( 1993 ). Australian Chart Book 1970 -- 1992 ( Illustrated ed. ). St Ives, N.S.W. : Australian Chart Book. p. 310. ISBN 0 - 646 - 11917 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Top RPM Adult Contemporary : Issue 8857. '' RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 12, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Top RPM Singles : Issue 0775. '' RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 12, 2015. Jump up ^ `` The Irish Charts -- Search Results -- Timbuk 3 ''. Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 5, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Charts.org.nz -- Timbuk 3 -- The Future 's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades ''. Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 5, 2013. Jump up ^ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles -- Week ending DECEMBER 27, 1986 at the Wayback Machine ( archived October 2, 2012 ). Cash Box magazine. Jump up ^ Langer, Andy ( November 24, 2000 ). `` The Future 's Still Bright ''. The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved June 11, 2014. External links Song Review at AllMusic Lyrics Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Future%27s_So_Bright,_I_Gotta_Wear_Shades&oldid=780051042 '' Categories : 1986 singles 1986 songs Songs about science Songs about nuclear war and weapons Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Canadaadultcontemporary Singlechart called without artist Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for Canadatopsingles Singlechart usages for Ireland2 Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for UK Singlechart making named ref Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 12 May 2017, at 17 : 00. 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Question: who sings my future's so bright i gotta wear shades
Answer: Timbuk3