Those Were The Days est, à l'origine, une vieille chanson du folklore tzigane russe, encore souvent jouée aujourd'hui par les musiciens ambulants.
Gene Raskin a écrit des paroles anglaises sous le titre "Those were the days" (qui parlent des vieux jours : Nous étions jeunes et romantiques...).La chanson a connu un certain succès en 1962 avec "The Limeliters". Puis Mary Hopkin, sur les conseils de Paul McCartney, l'enregistre pour son premier single, il en est aussi le producteur. Le disque devient vite numéro 1 un peu partout dans le monde et fait partie des singles les plus vendus au monde avec 5 000 000 d'exemplaires écoulés. La chanson a été reprise par la suite en français (Le temps des fleurs)

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...

[Verse 3]
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...