It all depends on who you ask.
It’s different for everyone.
As for me, they are fifty years past,
In a day before life got so fast.

Back then we had great music
That I still listen to this very day.
Soft and mellow and a bit of rock;
Much better than anything since.

There was nothing like the sound
Of a needle on vinyl at 33 rpm.
How cool was an eight-track
That didn’t have to be flipped over or re-wound.

Don’t get me started about the cars.
They were fast and powerful;
How great was the roar of a V8?
No plastic, they were made of steel!

Friday and Saturday nights
Were for cruising up and down Main,
Hooking up with friends
And picking up chicks.

We didn’t need all the fancy stuff,
Nowadays cars are nothing but fluff.
Crank down the window and tilt in the vent
For a cooling, refreshing breeze.

There was no GPS to point the way,
If we weren’t sure how to get there
We unfolded the paper map
Kept in the jockey-box.

If we didn’t have a map, we just picked one up
For free at the nearest service station
Where the attendant pumped our gas,
Checked the oil and cleaned the windshield.

Shove in the clutch and shift into fourth,
And turn up the radio.
No bucket seats, just a bench
For a girl to sit close.

When we got to where we were going,
We took plenty of pictures with an Instamatic.
When we got back, we dropped off the roll of film at the drug store
And waited for the prints to come back, hoping that they turned out.

I swear, the girls were much cuter.
No piercings or tattoos to spoil
Their natural beauty and innocence.
I found my girl and still have her.

Yes, there was trouble and strife
And there were differences of opinion.
But people remained civil, agreeing to disagree
Without contention and division.

If we missed our favorite show,
We waited for the re-run.
We caught the latest flick
At the drive-in or the theater.

The phone was mounted on the wall;
The receiver was attached by a cord.
We had to be careful of what we said,
The neighbor on the party line might be listening.

If our finger slipped on the rotary dial
We had to start over again.
If no one answered a call,
We simply called back later.

There were no cell phones, computers, or internet.
If we needed to look something up,
There was a book for that,
If we knew where to find it.

Life was great!
We didn’t know the difference.
But now that we do, would we go back
To the good old days?