* No breach of copyright or intellectual property is intended within this site, and all materials are presented for entertainment and study purposes only. I kindly ask that others visiting this site refrain from making any sort of revenue from the resources within this site. PLEASE DO NOT HOTLINK DIRECTLY TO THE FILES HERE. Please refer to the songs in their context on this page: http://www.barbra-archives.com/Films/streisand_waywewere_song.html
The song "The Way We Were" is almost as famous as the movie itself.
Appearing at number eight on the American Film Institute's list of 100 greatest movie songs, "The Way We Were" originally began with the word "daydreams" before Barbra herself suggested "mem'ries" instead.
(Above) Screen caps of the songwriters from The Way We Were DVD
(available by clicking the link on the Amazon Widget, left).
Audio 1 (Right):
Marvin Hamlisch plays the original tune of "The Way We Were".
[.mov file — 360 KB]
Audio 2 (Right):
A rare, early demo with a melody that hadn't quite become the final song we know and love.
[*special thanks to Rich Kleinberg]
[.mp3 file — 6.5 MB]
Some of the lyrics, at this point, were:
Rain falls on a Christmas afternoon.
Misty water-colored mem'ries of
the way we were ...
... and the morning I awaken / to the smile in your eyes ...
...Every day was like a gift of flowers
ribbon-wrapped and waiting to be seen
(next line inaudible) - then what happened, happened...
Audio 3 (Right):
Barbra Streisand sings a demo of "The Way We Were" — this version begins with the word "daydreams".
Hamlisch plays piano.
[mp3 — 3.9 MB]
Audio 4 (Right):
Barbra Streisand sings a demo of the unused version (an alternate melody) of "The Way We Were". This is also referred to as "The Way We Weren't".
Hamlisch plays piano.
[mp3 — 1.8 MB]
Audio 5 (Right):
The rare 7-inch promotional single that Columbia Pictures sent to movie theaters. It features the orchestrated version of the song, but different vocals than those on the movie soundtrack album.
[.mp3 file — 4.2 MB]
Other Versions of "The Way We Were" song, recorded by Barbra Streisand:
Other The Way We Were Pages:
copyright © 2003-2008 Matt Howe
