Those Were the Days

by Eugene Raskin (1962) [nb: tavern cited in the lyrics is White Horse Tavern in Greenwich Village; inspired by a Russian ballad, "By the Long Road" by Boris Fomin and Konstantin Podrevskyi; also performed by The Limeliters, Engelbert Humperdinck, Mary Hopkin, Sandie Shaw, The 5th Dimension, Dolly Parton, and many others, including foreign language versions] [nb: on Christmas 1975, the President of Equatorial Guinea, Francisco Macías Nguema, had 150 alleged coup plotters executed in the national stadium while a band played "Those Were the Days"]

Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And dreamed of all the great things we would do

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young, and sure to have our way
La la la la ....
Those were the days
Oh yes, those were the days

Then the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our starry notions on the way
If by chance I'd see you in the tavern
We'd smile at one another, and we'd say

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young, and sure to have our way
La la la la ....
Those were the days
Oh yes, those were the days

Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass, I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely person really me?

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young, and sure to have our way
La la la la ....
Those were the days
Oh yes, those were the days

Through the door, there came familiar laughter
I saw your face, and heard you call my name
Oh my friend, we're older but no wiser
For in our hearts, the dreams are still the same

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young, and sure to have our way
La la la la ....
Those were the days
Oh yes, those were the days

By the Long Road

by Boris Fomin and Konstantin Podrevskyi (1924) ["Dorogoi Dlinnoiu"]

[We] rode on a troika with sleigh bells,
And in the distance, lights flickered.
If only I could follow you now
I would dispel the grief in my soul!

By the long road, in the moony night,
And with that song that flies far away, ringing,
And with that ancient balalaika
That used to torment me by nights.

But it turned out our song was futile,
In vain we burned night after night .
If we have finished with the old,
Then those nights have also left us!

Out into our native land by new paths,
We have to go now!
[We] rode on a troika with sleigh bells,
But long since passed by!