abstract
| - %22Those Were the Days%22 is a song credited to Gene Raskin, who put English lyrics to the Russian romance song %22Dorogoi dlinnoyu%22 (%22Дорогой длинною%22, lit. %22By the long road%22), composed by Boris Fomin (1900–1948) with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevskii. It deals with reminiscence upon youth and romantic idealism.Georgian singer Tamara Tsereteli (1900–1968) and Russian singer Alexander Vertinsky made what were probably the earliest recordings of the song, in 1925 and in 1926 respectively.The song is featured in the 1953 British/French movie Innocents in Paris, in which it was sung with its original Russian lyrics by the Russian Tzigane chanteuse Ludmila Lopato, but is probably best remembered in English-speaking countries for Mary Hopkin's 1968 recording, which was a chart-topping hit in much of the Northern Hemisphere. On most recorded versions of the song, Raskin is credited as the writer, even though he wrote only the later English lyrics and not the melody.Mary Hopkin's version was released as %22Kanashiki Tenshi%22 (悲しき天使, lit. %22Sad Angel%22) in Japan.
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