Original Harry Chapin version
Remember when the music
Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire
And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire
For we believed in things, and so we'd sing
Remember when the music
Brought us all together to stand inside the rain
And as we'd join our hands, we'd meet in the refrain
For we had dreams to live and we had hopes to give
Don't you remember when the music
Was the best of what we dreamed of for our children's time
And as we sang we worked, for we knew time was just a line
A gift we saved, a gift the future gave
Oh, all the times I listened, and all the times I heard
All the melodies I'm missing, and all the magic words
And all those potent voices, and the choices we had then
How I'd love to find we had that kind of choice again
Remember when the music
Was a glow on the horizon of every newborn day
And as we sang, the sun came up to chase the dark away
And life was good, for we knew we could
Remember when the music
Brought the night across the valley as the day went down
And as we'd hum the melody, we'd be safe inside the sound
And so we'd sleep, for we had dreams to keep
And I dream that something's coming, and it's not just in the wind
It's more than just tomorrow, it's more than where we've been
It offers me a promise, it's telling me, "Begin"
I know we're needing something worth believing in
Remember when the music
Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire
And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire
For we believed in things, and so we'd sing
And so we'd sing
(Singing through the night, ah, oh, I wanna hear their voices ringing, hear the people singing, oh
singing through the night, feel the music in your heart, whoa)
REMEMBER WHEN THE MUSIC is a song written by Harry Chapin who released it on his 1980 album Sequel. The above lyrics are for the original Harry Chapin version of REMEMBER WHEN THE MUSIC as released in 1981.
Bruce Springsteen performed REMEMBER WHEN THE MUSIC live once, in December 1981 during Harry Chapin's 45th birthday gala concert. See Bruce Springsteen's live 07 Dec 1987 version for more details.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
List of available versions of REMEMBER WHEN THE MUSIC on this website:
REMEMBER WHEN THE MUSIC [Live 07 Dec 1987 version]