"Those Were the Days" is a song composed by Boris Fomin (1900–1948) but credited to Gene Raskin, who put a new English lyric to Fomin's

Russian romance Russian romance ( ''románs'') is a type of sentimental art song with hints of Romani people, Romani influence that was developed in Imperial Russia by such composers as Nikolai Titov (1800-1875), Alexander Alyabyev (1787–1851), Alexander Egoro ...

song "Dorogoi dlinnoyu", with words by the poet

Konstantin Podrevsky Konstantin Nikolayevich Podrevsky (; 14 January 1888 in Turinsk, Tobolsk Governorate, Russian Empire – 4 February 1930 in Moscow, USSR) was a Russian Soviet poet of Polish origin on mother's side, a translator and lyricist, co-author of more ...

. The song is a reminiscence of youth and romantic idealism. It also deals with tavern activities, which include drinking, singing, and dancing. The Welsh singer

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single " Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists to be sign ...

covered "Those Were the Days" as her debut single in 1968. Produced by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and arranged by

Richard Hewson Richard Anthony Hewson (born 17 November 1943) is an English producer, arranger, conductor and multi-instrumentalist, who created the studio group RAH Band. Career Hewson began in the late 1960s as an arranger, and worked with musicians such ...

, the song became a number one hit in the UK and Canada, and reached number two in the US on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 behind the Beatles' "

Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' fir ...

". It was number one in the first edition of the French National Hit Parade launched by the Centre d'Information et de Documentation du Disque. The song was included on Hopkin's 1969 debut album, ''

Post Card In computing, a POST card is a plug-in diagnostic Expansion card, interface card that displays progress and error codes generated during power-on self-test (POST) of a computer. It is used to troubleshoot computers that do not Booting, start ...

.''

Early history

Georgian singer

Tamara Tsereteli Tamara Semyonovna Tsereteli ( ka, თამარ წერეთელი, , 14 August 1900, in Sveri, Kutais Governorate, Georgia, Russian Empire – 3 April 1968, in Moscow, USSR) was a Georgian Russian singer, contralto, who specialized i ...

(1900–1968) and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

singer Alexander Vertinsky made what were probably the earliest recordings of the song, in 1925 and 1926 respectively. The song appears in the 1953 British/French movie ''

Innocents in Paris ''Innocents in Paris'' is a 1953 British-French international co-production comedy film produced by Romulus Films, directed by Gordon Parry and starring Alastair Sim, Ronald Shiner, Claire Bloom, Margaret Rutherford, Claude Dauphin, and Jimm ...

'', in which it was sung with its original Russian lyrics by the Russian

Tzigane ''Tzigane'' is a rhapsodic composition by the French composer Maurice Ravel featuring a virtuosic violin part. The original instrumentation was for violin and piano (with optional luthéal attachment). The first performance took place in Londo ...

chanteuse Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Eng ...

Ludmila Lopato. Mary Hopkin's 1968 recording, with Gene Raskin's lyric, was a chart-topping hit in much of the Northern Hemisphere. On most recordings of the song Raskin is credited as the sole writer, even though he wrote only the later English lyrics, which are not an English translation of the Russian lyrics, and not the music.

Later history

The famous American singer

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

sang the song on the

Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Nig ...

in 1969, April 27th together with the song The House I Live In. The Those were the days song's performance was quite different from her other ones since the audience "participated" in it. The other song was the second time she sang it on the show. In the early 1960s, Raskin and his wife Francesca played folk music in venues around

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

in New York, including the White Horse Tavern. Raskin, who had grown up hearing the song, wrote new English lyrics to the old

Russian music Music of Russia denotes music produced from Russia and/or by Russians. Russia is a large and culturally diverse country, with many ethnic groups, each with their own locally developed music. Russian music also includes significant contributions ...

, and illegally copyrighted both the music and lyrics in his own name.

The Limeliters The Limeliters are an American folk music group, formed in July 1959 by Lou Gottlieb (bass violin/bass), Alex Hassilev (banjo/baritone), and Glenn Yarbrough (guitar/tenor). The group was active from 1959 until 1965, and then after a hiatus ...

subsequently released a recording of the song on their 1962 LP ''Folk Matinee''. The Raskins were international performers and had played at London's "Blue Angel" club every year, always closing their show with the song.

frequented the club and, being quite taken with the song, attempted unsuccessfully to get several singers and groups, including the early

Moody Blues Moody may refer to: Places * Moody, Alabama, U.S. * Moody, Missouri, U.S. * Moody, Texas, U.S. * Moody County, South Dakota, U.S. * Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada * Hundred of Moody, a cadastral division in South Australia ** Moody, Sout ...

, to record it. After the formation of

' own

Apple Records Apple Records is a British record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists inclu ...

label, McCartney recorded Mary Hopkin performing the song at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

in London. He said later, "I thought it was very catchy, it had something, it was a good treatment of nostalgia... (Hopkin) picked it up very easily, as if she'd known it for years." The song was eventually recorded in over twenty languages and by many different artists. Hopkin's recording was produced by McCartney with an arrangement by

, and became a number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States it reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (held out of the top spot for three weeks by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

") and topped the Billboard

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

charts for six weeks. In the Netherlands it topped the charts for two consecutive weeks. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the record in the UK and the United States was a cover of

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

's "

Turn! Turn! Turn! "Turn! Turn! Turn!", also known as or subtitled "To Everything There Is a Season", is a song written by Pete Seeger in 1959. The lyrics – except for the title, which is repeated throughout the song, and the final two lines – consist of the fi ...

", which had been a US number-one hit for

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

in 1965. The Russian origin of the melody was accentuated by instrumentation that was unusual for a top-ten pop record, including

balalaika The balalaika (, ) is a Russian string instrument, stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck, and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the third string is a perf ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-string instrument which consists of String (music), strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board (music), sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set bef ...

cimbalom The cimbalom, cimbal (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by József Schunda, V. ...

tenor banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

and a children's choir, giving a

klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...

feel to the song. The cimbalom was played by Gilbert Webster. Hopkin said in 2015, " I did not play guitar on 'Those Were the Days.' Paul played acoustic guitar." McCartney also recorded Hopkin singing "Those Were the Days" in other languages for release in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(''Qué tiempo tan feliz);'' in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

(''An jenem Tag);'' in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(''Quelli erano giorni);'' and in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(''Le temps des fleurs).'' The non-English lyrics were also recorded by

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida (, ; ), was an Italian naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...

and

Sandie Shaw Sandra Ann Goodrich (born 26 February 1947), known by her stage name Sandie Shaw, is a retired English pop singer. One of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s, she had three UK number one singles with "(There's) Always Some ...

. "Those Were the Days" was given catalogue number APPLE 2. The APPLE 1 number had been taken by an unreleased version of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

's "

The Lady Is a Tramp "The Lady Is a Tramp" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical '' Babes in Arms'', in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green. This song is a spoof of New York high society and its strict etiquette (the first line ...

", which was recorded in 1968 for

Maureen Starkey Maureen Starkey Tigrett (born Mary Cox; 4 August 1946 – 30 December 1994), also known as Mo Starkey, was a hairdresser from Liverpool, England, best known as the first wife of Ringo Starr, the Beatles' drummer. When she was a trainee hair ...

's 22nd birthday as a gift from

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

, under the name "The Lady is a Champ". It was the second single to be released on the Apple label; the first,"Hey Jude" by the Beatles,had retained the catalogue numbers used by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

in the UK and

Capitol Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to: Places and buildings Legislative building * United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C. * National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá * Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela * National Ca ...

in the US. Hopkin's version was released following her success on the UK television talent show '' Opportunity Knocks.'' Around the time of its release, popular singer

was also asked to record the song by her management. Shaw's version was released as a single, but did not match the success of Hopkin's version. In the mid-1970s, after Hopkin's contract with Apple had ended, "Those Were the Days" and "Goodbye" were re-recorded with producer

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

, whom Hopkin had married in 1971. On 25 October 2010, Apple Records released '' Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records'', which included the original recordings of "Those Were the Days" and "Goodbye". The 'greatest hits' compilation album contained songs by artists who were signed to the Beatles' Apple record label between 1968 and 1973, and was the first multi-artist Apple compilation. On 24 December 1969, the President of

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

Francisco Macías Nguema Francisco Macías Nguema (born Mez-m Ngueme, later Africanisation, Africanised to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong; 1 January 1924 – 29 September 1979), often referred to as Macías Nguema or simply Macías, was an Equatoguinean politician w ...

, had 150 alleged coup plotters executed in the national stadium while the amplifier system played the Mary Hopkin recording of "Those Were the Days". It was supposedly one of the dictator's favorite songs. The tune of "Those Were the Days" was used for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

football chant "Come On You Boys in Green". In 2011, Hopkin's version of the song was used by

Nando's Nando's (; ) is a South Africa, South African multinational fast casual restaurant chain that specialises in Portuguese flame-grilled, peri-peri style Chicken as food, chicken. Founded in Johannesburg in 1987, Nando's operates over 1,200 outl ...

South Africa in a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

advertisement featuring

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

as the "Last Dictator Standing". The commercial was axed quickly, due to the controversy it created and condemnation from pro-Mugabe loyalists.

Charts (Mary Hopkin version)

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Notable recordings

* *A Brazilian Portuguese version arranged by Maestro Zezinho was used as the opening song of SBT's '' Show de Calouros'' (1977–96), one of the first

talent show A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are p ...

s in Brazilian television. *In 2024, Australian singer Jude York released a re-written and rearranged version of the song.

Notes

References

External links

Several Russian songs, including Дорогой длинноюThose were the days
on song facts
Discography of "Дорогой длинною" song on Russian-Records.comSite with lyrics
* {{Authority control 1968 songs 1968 debut singles Mary Hopkin songs Dolly Parton songs Sandie Shaw songs Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Apple Records singles Pye Records singles Cashbox number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in France Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Switzerland Oricon Weekly number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs about nostalgia UK singles chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles