“The Way We were”/“The World to Come”: Romantic Ballad from a Communist Propaganda Movie

By Nicholas Stix

The World to Come
Lyrics by Nicholas Stix, and Alan & Marilyn Bergman

Facing Congress,
They had our number from the start,
The revolution never happened,
Oh, the world to come.

Robotic slogans,
Of the blood we sought to spill,
Slogans that we shouted proudly,
Of the world to come.

Could it be so treacherous?
Counter-revolutionaries everywhere,
If we had the chance to do it all again,
Tell me, would we?
Could we?...

So, it’s the slaughter,
We will remember,
Whenever we remember,
The world to come,

The world to come.



“The Way We were”
Lyrics by Alan & Marilyn Bergman

Memories,
Light the corners of my mind,
Misty, watercolor memories,
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 re-written every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again,
Tell me, would we?
Could we?

Memories,
May be beautiful and yet,
What’s too painful to remember,
We simply to choose to forget,

So it’s the laughter,
We will remember,
Whenever we remember,
The way we were,
The way we were.

Music by Marvin Hamlisch