Mem'ries light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored mem'ries of the way we were

Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were

Can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me, would we, could we

Mem'ries 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

The way we were


Lyrics submitted by MiChi83

The Way We Were Lyrics as written by Marilyn Bergman Alan Bergman

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore

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The Way We Were song meanings
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    For me this song is all about how you can't return to what you were. Past relationships, once tainted, can never be the same. and once you figure out that its never going to be as great as it was before, you just leave it there, and move on. And so we try to be grateful for what we had, and we try to forget the bad times, shown when she says -

    "Mem'ries, may be beautiful and yet What's too painful to remember We simply choose to forget

    but i think the whole point of the song is, that you can't forget the bad things, the way you ended, the person you miss, the things that were said. It's only human to fixate on those things. Because all people are greedy, and so even though we try to be grateful for what we had, we still want more, and its upsetting how you can never get "more" because as james morrison said "you can't play on broken strings."

    Ranion July 25, 2009   Link

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