I had a birthday the other day, I'm 12 years old
Julie, Diane and I, they're my best friends
We made a secret promise that on my 21st birthday
We would all get together right here on this very spot
No matter how far we had to travel, boy a lot can happen by the time I'm 21
How will it be when I'm 21,
what will the future bring
Will everybody love everybody
or will the world be a ??
Will my life be any fun
when I'm 21, 21
How about when I'm 22
By 22 I could be a soldier,
when they run out of boys
I guess they'll have to start taking girls too
Of course, then again,
I might be in college when I'm 22
My sister's friend Carrie was in college,
until last year
I saw her on TV once carrying a big sign,
it said 'Give peace a chance',
why didn't they give Carrie a chance
In six days she would have been 22.
How will it be when I'm 23,
what will the years reveal
Will there be flowers and summer showers
... to be
What will be there for me
when I'm 23, 23.
And then I'll be 24,
boy that is nearly middle-aged
I could have ten children by then,
well, two at least.
Of course right now I wouldn't want to have any children
There's too much bad in the world for children to see
But maybe when I'm 24 people will be friends again
They better be friends, they better learn to share too
because someone told me
that won't be long
until there is not enough water to drink
if that's the case
How will it be when I'm 25
will anyone still be alive?
Julie, Diane and I, they're my best friends
We made a secret promise that on my 21st birthday
We would all get together right here on this very spot
No matter how far we had to travel, boy a lot can happen by the time I'm 21
How will it be when I'm 21,
what will the future bring
Will everybody love everybody
or will the world be a ??
Will my life be any fun
when I'm 21, 21
How about when I'm 22
By 22 I could be a soldier,
when they run out of boys
I guess they'll have to start taking girls too
Of course, then again,
I might be in college when I'm 22
My sister's friend Carrie was in college,
until last year
I saw her on TV once carrying a big sign,
it said 'Give peace a chance',
why didn't they give Carrie a chance
In six days she would have been 22.
How will it be when I'm 23,
what will the years reveal
Will there be flowers and summer showers
... to be
What will be there for me
when I'm 23, 23.
And then I'll be 24,
boy that is nearly middle-aged
I could have ten children by then,
well, two at least.
Of course right now I wouldn't want to have any children
There's too much bad in the world for children to see
But maybe when I'm 24 people will be friends again
They better be friends, they better learn to share too
because someone told me
that won't be long
until there is not enough water to drink
if that's the case
How will it be when I'm 25
will anyone still be alive?
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Eve Plumb, born on 29 April 1958, in Burbank, California, a childhood star of the TV program The Brady Bunch (playing the role of middle sister Jan Brady) released the single "How Will It Be" (RCA Records # 0409) at the age of 12. Her father Neely Plumb (a jazz saxophonist) arranged, conducted, produced and co-wrote the record.
On 20 February 1971 Billboard reported on the new single below a picture of Plumb: "KMPC's Jim Lange introduced new RCA artist, Eve Plumb, on a remote broadcast from Universal Studios in Hollywood, with the young performer coming out to talk about her single, 'How Will It Be' and her role in the TV series The Brady Bunch".
The single took an anti-war position. The narrator, who had just turned twelve, imagined what the world would look like when she entered her twenties, including the possibility of being recruited to fight in a war: "by 22 I could be a soldier, when they run out of boys I guess they'll have to start taking girls too" - which reflected the high number of US deaths in Vietnam by the time of this record in 1971.
She then recalled seeing her sister's friend on TV protesting the war: "I saw...Carrie...on TV once carrying a big sign, it said 'give peace a chance'". Unfortunately Carrie died, killed in a protest, a parallel to the Kent State demonstrations: "why didn't they give Carrie a chance, in six days she would have been 22".
She concluded by questioning whether she wanted to bring children into the world because of all the violence and hate.
Vietnam War Song Project