Lyrics Guess You Had to Be There - Janis Ian

Guess You Had to Be There

Back in nineteen-sixty-three, we walked a fine line
We were taking to the streets, skating on a thin dime
We were searching after truth and beauty
Now they turn it into late night movies
How can I explain
That it’s not the same
Guess you had to be there to be where
Love belonged to everyone
Flowers in the long hair, we stood there
Singing «We shall overcome»
Knowing the eyes of the world were on us
Knowing the whole world cared
Guess you had to be there
In the summer of our youth, we came together
And we knew that our truth would live forever
We were gonna make the whole world honest
When a bullet got the bravest of us
Somehow nothing else was sacred
And we all stood naked
Guess you had to be there to be where
Love belonged to everyone
Flowers in the long hair, we stood there
Singing «We shall overcome»
Knowing the eyes of the world were on us
Knowing the whole world cared
Guess you had to be there
Now we listen to the news, and it seems all hope is gone
Everybody feeling used, and there’s nowhere left to run
Sometimes it feels like the memory
Is all that’s left of our used-to-be
But what can never be denied
Is the way we changed inside
Guess you had to be there to be where
Love belonged to everyone
Flowers in the long hair, we stood there
Singing «We shall overcome»
Knowing the eyes of the world were on us
Knowing the whole world cared
Guess you had to be there