Peak
2
Weeks
14
Score
3,272
Chart Year
1968
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"[a], 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. 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 also 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.[4] The song was included on Hopkin's 1969 debut album, Post Card.
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 28, 1968 | 70 | 56 |
| 2 | Oct 5, 1968 | 54 | 72 |
| 3 | Oct 12, 1968 | 18 | 108 |
| 4 | Oct 19, 1968 | 13 | 113 |
| 5 | Oct 26, 1968 | 4 | 122 |
| 6 | Nov 2, 1968 | 2 | 124 |
| 7 | Nov 9, 1968 | 2 | 124 |
| 8 | Nov 16, 1968 | 2 | 124 |
| 9 | Nov 23, 1968 | 3 | 123 |
| 10 | Nov 30, 1968 | 4 | 122 |
| 11 | Dec 7, 1968 | 10 | 116 |
| 12 | Dec 14, 1968 | 12 | 114 |
| 13 | Dec 21, 1968 | 19 | 107 |
| 14 | Dec 28, 1968 | 25 | 101 |