Good old days is a cliché in popular culture used to reference a time considered by the speaker to be better than the current era. It is a form of nostalgia which can reflect homesickness or yearning for long-gone moments.[1]

There is a predisposition, caused by cognitive biases such as rosy retrospection, a form of survivorship bias, for people to view the past more favourably and future more negatively.[2][3][4]

Notable uses

In literature

In 1726, John Henley used this phrase in his book The Primitive Liturgy "to all honest Admirers of the good old Days of their best and wisest Fore-fathers, this first Part of the Primitive Liturgy Is most humbly dedicated".[5]

In 1727, Daniel Defoe wrote in The Complete English Tradesman "In the good old days of Trade, which our Fore-fathers plodded on in."[6] In this part of his book, Defoe talks about how in 'the good old days' tradesman were better off than in Defoe's time.

In music

In 2015, musical duo Twenty One Pilots released Stressed Out, a song that pinpointed the return to the 'good old days'. It won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in February 2017.[7] As of August 2021, the official music video on YouTube has been viewed 2.3 billion times.[8] In 2022, The Reklaws released the studio album Good Ol' Days.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Nostalgic". www.vocabulary.com. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  2. ↑ The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang edited by Grant Barrett, p. 90.
  3. ↑ Etchells, Pete (January 16, 2015). "Declinism: is the world actually getting worse?". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Steven R. Quartz, The State Of The World Isn't Nearly As Bad As You Think, Edge Foundation, Inc., retrieved 2016-02-17
  5. ↑ Multiple., Contributors (2010). Primitive liturgy : for the use of the oratory. part 1. being a form of morning and evening. [Place of publication not identified]: Gale Ecco, Print Editions. ISBN 9781170253939. OCLC 945379031. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  6. ↑ Defoe, Daniel (2008). The Complete English Tradesman. Charleston, South Carolina: BiblioLife. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-0554343099.
  7. ↑ "59TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS NOMINEES". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ Stressed Out (Official Video) Retrieved August 22, 2021
  9. ↑ Daykin, James (November 4, 2022). "The Reklaws – 'Good Ol' Days' Review". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved July 28, 2023.


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