Those Were The Days
Alexandra Lyrics


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Once upon a time there was 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
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
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 woman 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
Throgh 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

Overall Meaning

The song “Those Were The Days” sung by Mary Hopkin was originally a Russian song called “Dorogoi Dlinnoyu” which was translated into English by Gene Raskin. Alexandra’s version of this song is a nostalgic and bittersweet look back at one's younger days. It tells the story of a group of friends who in their youth frequented a particular tavern that served as the backdrop to some of their fondest memories. They used to dream about the things they would do in the world and it all seemed limitless, full of opportunities and possibilities. But as the years passed, life took its toll, they grew older and their perspectives changed; their youthful hope and exuberance were replaced by a sense of nostalgia and a longing for the bygone days.


The first verse of the song introduces us to the tavern and the joy and excitement that used to burst out of it whenever the group of friends gathered there. They laughed away the hours, dreamed of their futures, and created memories that they would cherish for the rest of their lives. The chorus "those were the days my friend" is a lament, a nostalgic look back that makes them realize how fleeting time is, and the second verse illustrates how life became overwhelming as they grew older, and their naive view of the world was replaced by a more jaded one. The third verse is a poignant look back at how life has changed for the singer. They stand in front of the tavern, looking into the glass, and see a reflection of themselves that is a far cry from the vibrant young person they used to be. And yet when they see their old friend, they are filled with a sense of nostalgic warmth, knowing that despite the passing of time, their friendship can still bring them back to that joyous place where those special memories were made.


Line by Line Meaning

Once upon a time there was tavern
There was a place where we used to gather


Where we used to raise a glass or two
Where we used to drink and have fun


Remember how we laughed away the hours
We spent our time laughing and having a good time


And dreamed of all the great things we would do
We had big dreams and aspirations


Those were the days my friend
We had a great time back then


We thought they'd never end
We believed that our good times would last forever


We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We enjoyed singing and dancing so much that we could do it all the time


We'd live the life we choose
We were free to live our lives the way we wanted


We'd fight and never lose
We were strong and confident, and believed we could overcome any obstacle


For we were young and sure to have our way
We were young and had a lot of confidence in ourselves


Then the busy years went rushing by us
Time passed us by quickly as we got caught up in our busy lives


We lost our starry notions on the way
We lost some of our idealism and dreams as we faced the challenges of life


If by chance I'd see you in the tavern
If we happened to meet again where we used to gather


We'd smile at one another and we'd say
We would acknowledge each other and reminisce about the past


Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Recently, I visited the place where we used to gather


Nothing seemed the way it used to be
Things had changed a lot since we were last there


In the glass I saw a strange reflection
Looking at my reflection in the glass, I saw an unfamiliar face


Was that lonely woman really me
I felt isolated and disconnected from my old self


Throgh the door there came familiar laughter
Suddenly, I heard laughter that sounded familiar


I saw your face and heard you call my name
I recognized an old friend who called out to me


Oh my friend we're older but no wiser
Despite our age, we may not have gotten any smarter


For in our hearts the dreams are still the same
We still have the same hopes and dreams we had when we were younger


La-la-la-la...
Instrumental break


Those were the days
The past was a great time in our lives


Oh yes, those were the days
We really loved the time we spent together back then




Contributed by Henry L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Andres Castro

Once upon a time there was 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
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
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 woman 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
Throgh 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



All comments from YouTube:

Semi Silesian

Als Alexandra tödlich verunglückte,war ich erst knapp 7 Jahre alt,da mein Großvater ein Jahr zuvor verstarb,konnte ich bereits ermessen,was es bedeutet und wie es sich anfühlt,einen nahestehenden Menschen zu verlieren. Alexandra besaß sowohl eine tolle Ausstrahlung und eine tolle Stimme,ich habe Ihre Musik schon als kleiner Junge gemocht und höre sie heute noch sehr gerne. Diese Musik hat Seele und wurde mit viel Gefühl gesungen,leider findet man so etwas heutzutage nur noch sehr selten. Alexandra ist und bleibt unvergessen.

Kim Korfu

Sie starb 8 Monate vor meiner Geburt. Ich kenne ihre Lieder, weil sie meine Mutter gerne gehört hat.

Miya N

Eine große Frau. Sie hat zu Lebzeiten genau die richtigen Lieder gehabt um bis heute unvergessen zu bleiben, und dazu ihre wundervolle Stimme.
Es ist bis heute ein Verlust das sie so früh gegangen ist.

Angela Böckmann

Alexanderas Stimme bezaubert mich wann immer ich sie höre..und ich bin sicher es geht vielen Anderen genauso wie mir.

Leo Klein Langenhoff

Ich hab alles an ihr geliebt.Ihre Stimme,ihre Lieder,ihre Schönheit,ihr künstlerisches Können und ich war erst 12 als sie viel zu früh starb.Ich bekomme heute noch feuchte Augen wenn ich sie singen höre😢

Klaus Karnath

Wahnsinns Stimme....

Wojtek Nowak

Alexandra passed away so young but gave us so many beautiful songs. RIP my dear

Anelissa Stanibol

Great song, great rendition.

Ира Анисимова

Влюбилась в голос этой певицы. Хочется больше узнать о ней. Кто, какая страна, творческий путь и т. д. За информацию буду благодарна.

Hans-Jürgen Bracker

Hallo Ira, https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Александра_(певица) 💐🤗👋

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