Those Were The Days
Lady Sovereign Lyrics

We used to play jump the line
We would take turns jumping over a line on the ground and whoever jumped the furthest would win

Or who could wrap the swing around the frame the most times
We used to see who could swing around a pole the most times before getting dizzy and falling off

Back in the day, riding our bikes around the estate
We would ride our bikes around our neighborhood when we were younger

And playin' basketball in the cage, those were the days
We used to play basketball in a fenced-in area and those were the good old days

I remember them water fights, the tap outside
I have fond memories of having water fights outside using the tap

Just to race to it on our bikes
We would race each other to the tap on our bikes to see who could get there first

Grinnin' with two front teeth missin', we did what we like
We used to smile with our two missing front teeth and do whatever we wanted

Those days are missin', those days were alright
We don't have those kind of days anymore but they were really great

Knock down ginger, knock knock then shift
We used to play a game where we would knock on someone's door and run away before they could answer

Two minutes later we got locked in the lift
We once got into a lift and it got stuck for a couple of minutes

Laughin' when we got out, got into silly arguments
When we finally got out of the lift we laughed but then got into silly arguments with each other

About who found the pound on the ground
We argued about who found a pound coin on the ground

Bopped to the shops bought about ten ice pops
We walked to the shops and bought around ten ice pops

The weather was hot so they melted in our pockets
It was a hot day so the ice pops ended up melting in our pockets

Used to carry my belongings in them McDonald's bum bags
We would carry our belongings in bags that we got from McDonald's

That was back then so boy don't mock it
Things were different back then so don't make fun of it

We used to race down the hill in old safe way trolleys
We would race down a hill in old Safeway shopping carts

I wasn't indoors playing with Barbie's or dollies
I wasn't inside playing with typical girl toys like Barbies or dolls

I was outside jumpin' off walls or playin' football
I was outside jumping off walls or playing football instead

Or getting chased by the local pit bull
Sometimes we would get chased by a pit bull from the neighborhood

The odd character that every borough had
Every neighborhood has its own unique and interesting characters

Mad Phillip, Ginger beard or Mad Max
These were some of the unique characters from our neighborhood that had interesting nicknames

The places you wouldn't wanna see when you're on your jacks
There were some areas in our neighborhood that you wouldn't want to be in by yourself

In the places you wouldn't be in if you stuck to your packs
If you stayed in groups you wouldn't end up in some of these dangerous areas

Stayed out till it was pitch black
We would stay out until it was really dark outside

Sprayed my name on concrete slabs
I once sprayed my name onto some concrete slabs

And I never got b**** slapped
I never got into any serious trouble for doing things like spraying my name on things

Seen a couple of mans get stabbed
I have witnessed a couple of people getting stabbed

Been chased by the mad man, gotta get back
I have run away from some dangerous people in the neighborhood before

So I can catch joke with my next door neighbor
So I can have a good laugh with my neighbor who lives next door

We played the first Mortal Kombat on the Sega
We used to play the first Mortal Kombat game on the Sega video game console

Back then playing the latest jungle tunes we had on cassette
Back then we used to listen to the newest Jungle music on cassette tapes

Remember naf naf jackets and spliffy jeans
We used to wear Naf Naf jackets and Spliffy jeans

Adidas campus, them things were in
Adidas Campus shoes were really popular back then

It wasn't about the king of the bling
It wasn't about showing off materialistic things like jewelry and expensive items

It was the king of the rim or the king of the swing
It was more important to be the best at playing basketball or swinging on the playground equipment

Back then, well, I kind has less
Back then, I had less money

But less was much better 'cause it saved a lot of stress
Having less money meant that I had less to worry about and it was less stressful

I hung out in Coffers community center
I used to spend time at the Coffers community center

They've knocked it down and replaced it with an Asda
The community center has been demolished and replaced with an Asda supermarket

My parents way of tellin' us to get our backs in
My parents used to sound an old-fashioned signal to let us know it was time to come inside

Was them sounding some old f***ing klaxon
They would make a loud noise to get our attention and signal that it was time to come inside

A soldier marched back up to Radcliffe Walk
I remember seeing a soldier marching up Radcliffe Walk

Chalk hill Estate don't exist no more, it's just talk
The Chalk Hill Estate doesn't exist anymore and is just something people talk about

Those were the days
Those were really great times

Those were the days
Those were the kind of days that I will always look back on fondly