"The Way We Were" is the title song to the 1973 movie The Way We Were, starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford.[1] The song was written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, scored by Marvin Hamlisch and performed by Streisand. It won the Academy Award[1] and Golden Globe for Best Song and also made AFI's list of Top 100 Songs from Film; it was ranked number eight.
"The Way We Were" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in 1974 and was replaced by "Love's Theme" by the Love Unlimited Orchestra.And it's the top of year-end chart，repestly. It then returned to number one for two additional weeks. The song also spent two weeks atop the easy listening chart, Streisand's second single to reach the top of this chart (following 1964's "People"). The track peaked at #31 in the UK Singles Chart in 1974.[1]
The 45 version of the song is a different vocal take than the version which appeared on the original movie soundtrack and subsequent greatest hits compilations. Both versions use the same music track. The difference in the vocals can most easily be heard on the line "Smiles we gave to one another" at approximately 1:15 into the song. The true 45 RPM single version has never appeared on CD. The soundtrack version of the song, a completely different take with alternate music track, appears on Just For the Record, Streisand's 4-CD box set collection released in 1991.
A bootleg of the recording sessions exists featuring Streisand with composer Marvin Hamlisch in a recording studio as they perform various takes of the song. One segment reveals Streisand changing the first word of the song from "Daydreams" to "Memories."
Streisand's version was listed at #90 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time.[2]
[edit] Lyrics
- Memories light the corners of my mind,
- Misty water color memories of the way we were.
- Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind,
- Smiles we gave to one another fore the way we were.
- Can it be that it was all so simple then,
- Or has time rewritten every line?
- And if we had the chance to do it all again,
- Tell me, would we? Could we?
- Memories may be beautiful, and yet
- What's too painful to remember
- We simply choose to forget,
- So it's the laughter we will remember
- Whenever we remember the way we were.
[edit] Other versions
- In 1974, Maynard Ferguson did a cover version for his album "Chameleon".
- In 1975, Doris Day recorded the song for her television special Doris Day toDay.
- A 1975 version by Gladys Knight & the Pips featured the intro to the song "Try to Remember" and was credited as "The Way We Were/Try to Remember". Released as a single, it reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. The track reached #4 in the UK Singles Chart in 1975.[1] In 1993, Wu-Tang Clan sampled this version on their single "Can It Be All So Simple".
- In 1975 Shirley Bassey recorded the song on her album Good, Bad, But Beautiful.
- José José recorded the song in Spanish titled "Nuestros Recuerdos", included in his 1975 album Tan Cerca...Tan Lejos.
- Dick Haymes recorded the song in 1976 for the radio series, Alec Wilder's American Popular Song.
- In 1976, The New York Disco Orchestra released a disco version of the song on Artemis Records. This version was produced by Clem Vicari. It was released as a seven inch single and divided into two parts. This version charted for two weeks on Billboard's Disco Action Charts.
- In 1976, Teresa Teng recorded the song on her English album, "With Love from...Teresa Teng".
- Donna Summer performed a cover on her 1978 live double album Live and More.
- In 1979, Gilda Radner recorded a somewhat humorous version of the song as character Lisa Lupner, on her LP, Live from New York.
- Leslie Cheung released a live recording on his 1990 farewell concert album, Final Encounter of the Legend.
- In 2007, musician Dave Koz recorded a version from his album of pop standards, At the Movies. The song featured vocalist Vanessa Williams.[3]
- In 2007, Barry Manilow included the song on his album The Greatest Songs of the Seventies.
- In 2008, Girlicious did a remake of the song on their self-titled debut album, Girlicious.
- On December 30, 2008, Beyoncé Knowles performed her cover of the song to Barbra Streisand at the 31st annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C.[citation needed]
- In 2010, an a capella version is featured on the 2008 album, Destinations, by Barbershop Harmony Society champions OC Times.
- In 2011, a dance version is featured on the 2011 album, Forever Matell, by Matell.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
