I owe our sour grapes...!
Last evening the answer to another of life's important mysteries was revealed to me. I found out what the last stanza of "Those Were the Days", the theme song to All in the Family, actually says. While relaxing with some nostalgia TeeVee shows I made a vow to myself to consult Google and finally learn the lyrical truth about "Those Were The Days". Although you personally may have had the ear to discern the words as Edith and Archie sang the last lines of the show's opening tune, for 30+ years I did not. As hard as I would listen the last two lines of verse always sounded like "Gee I owe our sour grapes....those were the days". Now being somewhat astute I could not image that I was hearing correctly, "I owe our sour grapes" just didn't make sense. But once an idea finds it's way into my limited brain space there it stays, so I could not overwrite this data with something more sensible. Every time I've seen All in the Family for the last three decades I've heard "....I owe our sour grapes" knowing full well it was a bogus interpretation. I had no problems with the first 3 verses.....
OK this verse is easy to understand and has meaning in the context of the show, the good ol' days when music was oh so tuneful and easy to listen to, not like the raucous rock n' roll of the early '70's when the show aired.
Last evening the answer to another of life's important mysteries was revealed to me. I found out what the last stanza of "Those Were the Days", the theme song to All in the Family, actually says. While relaxing with some nostalgia TeeVee shows I made a vow to myself to consult Google and finally learn the lyrical truth about "Those Were The Days". Although you personally may have had the ear to discern the words as Edith and Archie sang the last lines of the show's opening tune, for 30+ years I did not. As hard as I would listen the last two lines of verse always sounded like "Gee I owe our sour grapes....those were the days". Now being somewhat astute I could not image that I was hearing correctly, "I owe our sour grapes" just didn't make sense. But once an idea finds it's way into my limited brain space there it stays, so I could not overwrite this data with something more sensible. Every time I've seen All in the Family for the last three decades I've heard "....I owe our sour grapes" knowing full well it was a bogus interpretation. I had no problems with the first 3 verses.....
Boy the way Glen Miller played
Songs that made the hit parade.
Guys like us we had it made,
Those were the days.
OK this verse is easy to understand and has meaning in the context of the show, the good ol' days when music was oh so tuneful and easy to listen to, not like the raucous rock n' roll of the early '70's when the show aired.
And you knew who you were then,Again social commentary ala Archie Bunker...."We don't need no faggots here Meathead", things were simpler in the days of the Bunkers youth. People, places and things were straightforward and better. I can dig it.
Girls were girls and men were men,
Mister we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again.
Didn’t need no welfare state.Here, the start of the final verse, is something that makes great sense and is in some ways the crux of Archie Bunkerism, the Commie Pinko Fag Hippies taking advantage of the American dream. But at this point, for decades, my brain lapsed into "stuck". Stuck on "Gee I owe our sour grapes". When in fact the actual lyrics are...... are you ready!
Everybody pulled his weight.
Gee our old LaSalle ran great."Gee our old LaSalle ran great". That's it? Well no wonder I never connected up ear to brain and understood. That's lame, it has no contectual meaning to the show. Unfortunately now that I know the real words my brain will be stuck with them, but I think I'd rather still be hearing "Gee I owe our sour grapes". It's just as relevant. The songwriters, Lee Adams and Charles Strouse must have had a major work planned for this song and the producers cut them off just as they was getting going. "Sorry Lee, Charlie you're running long with this thing, it's a stinkin' sitcom theme song not a symphony". So Lee and Charlie just threw in some wordy rhyming drivel to complete the song and that was that. Leaving me stuck for 30+ years trying to figure out just what the hell they were singing. Thanks Lee, thanks Chuck.
Those were the days.
