Who wrote Those Were the Days All in the Family

by · Published May 11, 2019 · Updated May 11, 2019

“Those Were the Days” was designed to represent the worldviews of the television characters Archie and Edith Bunker, who were a married couple. Archie in particular was a bigot who cleaved to traditional American values despite the fact that during the 1970s (the decade in which the television show “All in the Family” aired) the nation was going through major ideological changes due primarily to the aftereffects of the 1960s. 

So this song finds the couple reminiscing affectionately about times past, stating that “those were the days”, as in a better era then the one they were currently living in. And in the process, they seem to make veiled attacks against homosexuals and perhaps even feminists by advocating deadset gender roles. 

They also may have criticized racial minorities in a roundabout way, as such people are often perceived to be the main beneficiaries of “welfare states” in America. 

And the past decade they seem to be particularly fond of is the 1930s, as they reference Herbert Hoover (US President from 1929-1933), Glenn Miller (a musician who peaked in the latter part of that decade) and LaSalle (a Cadillac that was produced from 1927-1940) in a positive light.

Facts about “Those Were the Days”

• This song was written by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams specifically for All in the Family, presumably in 1971, the first season the show aired.
• In fact the original title of that television program was actually Those Were the Days.
• The characters of Archie and Edith Bunker were played respectively by Carroll O’Connor (1924-2001) and Jean Stapleton (1923-2013).
• Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton actually performed this song (in character) before every episode of All in the Family throughout most of its run when it was filmed in front of a live audience. Indeed Strouse and Adams are best known for writing theater music (i.e. for Broadway).