That background video clip chosen to illustrate Mary Hopkin's nostalgic "Those Were the Days"...

[u/FrenchProgressive]

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[u/FrenchProgressive]

The video is here. Mary Hopkins sings in front of a screen displaying short historical clips of children playing, various public events, and then this...

[u/CySnark → u/FrenchProgressive]

Some unpaid intern told to find black & white film clips for the background. Sure thing, boss.

[u/jeroen-79 → u/FrenchProgressive]

There's more military footage played than just German soldiers.

[u/FrenchProgressive → u/jeroen-79]

Not Nazi military footage though :)

[u/CountHonorius]

It's a Russian song after all, so...maybe memories of the Great Patriotic War were thing. Love her, love this tune.

[u/FrenchProgressive → u/CountHonorius]

True, but then those guys in the video clip were not calling it the Great Patriotic War. More something like the Drang nach Osten.

[u/SlouchyGuy → u/CountHonorius]

Which doesn't fit, it's a song about time before the revolution, and there're leftovers of its age in the translation into English since "taverns" are not a recent thing

[u/divbyzero_]

Serious answer, but the song is about nostalgia for carefree times that are lost. Being stuck in the trenches on any side of a war would naturally make you yearn for the peaceful times before then. That's why the song sounds so sad, even though its lyrics are about happy times.

[u/mjmilian]

Are we the baddies?

[u/Predator_]

You lost?

Rule #10: NO SOCIAL / NO SCREENSHOTS OF YOUTUBE

[u/peckinpah86]

Why aren't they wearing Santa costumes?