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...
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
La la la la...
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
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days
La la la la...
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
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days
La la la la...
我也喜欢这首歌，但就觉得那种旋律不像英语地区的土产，那时也没有时间去追问。直到最近才得知这个曲调的确是抄苏联歌曲“ 漫长的路” (Дорогой длинною)。
这是苏联作曲家 Boris Fomin (1900–1948) 为 Konstantin Podrevskii 的一首诗所谱的曲。Boris Fomin 何时创作这首歌我们不知道，可是早在 1925 年就有唱片流传了。这是原来歌词的英译：
They were riding in a troika with bells (注),
and in the distance there were glimmering lights.
I’d rather go now with you, my dears,
I’d rather distract my soul from the yearning.
[Chorus]
Along a long road, and on a moonlit night,
And with that song that flies away with jingle-jangle,
And with that ancient, seven-stringed one (guitar)
That tortured me so much at nights…
Living this way, without joy, without torture,
I do remember the past years
and your silvery hands
in a troika that flew away forever….
But it turns out our song was futile,
In vain we burned night in and night out.
If we have finished with the old,
Then those nights have also left us!
The days run on, multiplying the sorrows,
it is so hard for me to forget the past.
Some day, my dear,
you shall take me to bury (dead hero to the cemetery)
Out into our native land, and by new paths,
We have been fated to go now!
…You rode on a troika with sleigh bells,
[But] you’ve long since passed by!
**** (注) troika： 三匹马平头拉的车或雪橇。
那这首 “漫长的路 ”又怎样变成 “Those Were The Days” 呢？ 话说六十年代初纽约有个名叫 Gene Raskin 的，他常在当时嬉皮士大本营格林威治村 (Greenwich Village) 一家餐馆 White Horse Tavern 演唱。因为他自小就常常听他母亲唱那首 “漫长的路”， 灵机一触他就把歌词改写成英文的 “Those Were The Days”，还注册了歌词和歌曲的版权。大慨他在 White Horse Tavern 唱歌时有所感触，所以他那首歌就以 “Once upon a time there was a tavern” 开头。他灌录过包括这首歌的唱片，但流通量不算大。
后来他又到伦敦的蓝天使夜总会演唱这曲，在那里他碰到披头四的 Paul McCartney。Paul McCartney 就以披头四的 Apple Record 的名义向他买下这歌曲的版权，然后叫 Mary Hopkin 翻唱这歌录成唱片，那时是1968年。
经过披头四的推销这歌曲很快就出现二十种语言的版本，Gene Raskin 本人也收到不少红利 (我想他不是卖断而是分利)，过着不忧柴米的富翁生活，他还在地中海的马洛卡岛买下一幢别墅，一架保时捷，和一艘风帆游艇。
这首歌变得这样红，后来连邓丽君和浅田美代子也来凑热闹，灌录了自己的版本。
有一间纽约公司知道这首歌的底细于是径自用它的乐曲来替罗基奇牌子的犹太鱼丸做广告，Raskin 就把它告上法庭。这公司说我是用俄罗斯民歌，不是抄你的。但 Raskin 还是打赢了官司，因为他把曲调改了一点点，而那广告公司没有去找原来的俄罗斯版本。
