About The Song
The Carpenters’ track “Yesterday Once More” has the remarkable ability to transport you back to the moment and place where you first experienced it, regardless of the time that has passed.
Unveiled in 1973 as part of their album “Now & Then,” the song reached the impressive No. 2 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming The Carpenters’ top-selling record globally. Furthermore, it stands as the duo’s best-selling single in the United Kingdom.
Penned by Richard Carpenter, one half of the renowned ’70s duo, in collaboration with lyricist John Bettis, “Yesterday Once More” delves into the nostalgic impact of music. It reflects on songs from a bygone era, illustrating how they resurface like long-lost friends when revisited.
“Every sha-la-la-la, every wo-o-wo-o, still shines. Every shing-a-ling-a-ling, that they’re startin’ to sing’s so fine. All my best memories come back clearly to me. Some can even make me cry, just like before. It’s yesterday once more,” the song goes.
In a documentary, Richard Carpenter expressed that “Yesterday Once More” held a special place as his favorite among all the songs he had written. He shared, “The oldies experienced a revival in popularity during the early ’70s, much to the delight of Karen and myself.”
“I thought it would be nice to write a song about this and use the piece to bookend the oldies medley we were planning to record for the second side of our first album release for 1973, Now and Then. The resulting ‘Yesterday Once More’ became our eighth domestic gold single, and one of our biggest hits worldwide.”
Bettis also clearly remembers the day the hit came to fruition. “Yesterday Once More” was written during the time when The Carpenters were on the road a lot, and Richard no longer had the time to find new materials, so he enlisted Bettis’ help.
“I wrote maybe five pages of (song) titles. There must have been 70 of them, and I got them over to Richard’s house. He never said anything to me. I didn’t know which one he took if any,” Bettis recalled to Tennessean. “I showed up in his piano room and saw my sheets of paper all over the floor. I saw a circle, and it was ‘Yesterday Once More.’” However, Richard and Bettis could not figure out how to do the verses and ended up wasting about five hours of the two to three days left for them to write some songs.
“Karen was always checking on us. She wouldn’t bother us, but she’d make sure we weren’t just fooling around,” Bettis continued. “She came in and said, ‘What have you got for me?’ We said, ‘Well, it’s not done.’ We played her the chorus, and she, of course, loved it.”
Even though The Carpenters were only able to record together for some fourteen years before the untimely death of Karen Carpenter, the duo has given us enough songs that would make us think it’s yesterday once more! Tune in and watch The Carpenters’ remarkable performance of the timeless song in the video below.
Video
Lyrics
When I was young
I’d listen to the radio
Waitin’ for my favorite songs
When they played I’d sing along
It made me smileThose were such happy times
And not so long ago
How I wondered where they’d gone
But they’re back again
Just like a long lost friend
All the songs I loved so wellEvery Sha-la-la-la
Every Wo-o-wo-o
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they’re startin’ to sing’s
So fineWhen they get to the part
Where he’s breakin’ her heart
It can really make me cry
Just like before
It’s yesterday once moreLookin’ back on how it was
In years gone by
And the good times that I had
Makes today seem rather sad
So much has changedIt was songs of love that
I would sing to then
And I’d memorize each word
Those old melodies
Still sound so good to me
As they melt the years awayEvery Sha-la-la-la
Every Wo-o-wo-o
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they’re startin’ to sing’s
So fineAll my best memories
Come back clearly to me
Some can even make me cry
Just like before
It’s yesterday once moreEvery Sha-la-la-la
Every Wo-o-wo-o
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they’re startin’ to sing’s
So fineEvery Sha-la-la-la
Every Wo-o-wo-o
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they’re startin’ to sing’s
So fine
Karen Carpenter had the best voice I have ever heard. So sad she got caught up in that you’re fat lose weight. She was never fat.. she was perfect.