"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 song "Dorogoi dlinnoyu", with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevsky. 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 covered "Those Were the Days" as her debut single in 1968. Produced by Paul McCartney of the Beatles and arranged by Richard Hewson, 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". 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.