# Looking for Songs about chance encounters with old lovers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783 "2005-02-12T20:41:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/1 "2005-02-12T20:41:11Z")
In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=301985) Harry Chapin’s song Taxi was mentioned and Dan Fogelberg’s Same Old Lang Syne were mentioned. What are others with the same story. Mary Hopkin’s Those Were the Days sorta fits. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/2 "2005-02-12T20:47:47Z")
“Martha”, by Tom Waits may qualify. It’s about a man who calls up an old flame, looking for her on the off chance that she is still at that number. It’s a staple in our house, since that’s exactly what my stepdad to reconnect with my mom after their marriages (to other people) broke up. They had been just friends way back when, married their respective sweeties, and then moved to different citioes, and he never forgot her. He dialed her up randomly one day and now they’ve been together for more than a decade. Also, my mom’s name is Martha. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/3 "2005-02-12T20:58:26Z")
Van Morrison “Brown Eyed Girl” has a mention along the theme in the last verse, and the rest is largely reminiscent. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/4 "2005-02-12T21:00:20Z")
Little Texas’s “What Might Have Been” and Garth Brooks’s “Unanswered Prayers” are both good examples of this type of song. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/5 "2005-02-12T21:02:58Z")
Streisand’s “The Way We Were” ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/6 "2005-02-12T21:19:29Z")
David Hollister’s “One Woman Man.” Opening lines: It’s so funny running into you/ It has be three years/ Since we last seen each other/ Many flashbacks come to mind/ All the wild and crazy times/ We used to have one another… The song veers off into David singing about how he’s so in love with the woman he’s with now, less so about the meeting. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/7 "2005-02-12T21:20:32Z")
Paul Simon, “Still Crazy After All These Years” ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/8 "2005-02-13T07:04:07Z")
Dan Fogelberg, [_Same Old Lang Syne_](http://www.danfogelberg.com/alphalyrics5.html). ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/9 "2005-02-13T08:06:20Z")
_That Was a River_ by Collin Raye sort of fits. I’ve seen that look before Here comes that doubt again You think that girl we saw Was more than just a friend Yes, there was a time I thought she had it all She meant the world to me Back when the world was small […] > **[That Was A River Lyrics - Raye Collin - Cowboy Lyrics](https://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/collin-raye/that-was-a-river-5657.html)** > > That Was A River lyrics: I've seen that look before Here comes that doubt again You think that girl we saw Was more than just a friend Yes, there was a time I thought she had it all She meant the world to me Back when th I’ve been getting nostalgic for the country I used to listen to recently. I really need to hunt down some 90’s love ballads. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/10 "2005-02-13T14:04:46Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Dan Fogelberg, [_Same Old Lang Syne_](http://www.danfogelberg.com/alphalyrics5.html). 🙂 I suspect you are guilty of something I do all the time - only reading part of the post. I mentioned Same Old Lang Syne in my original post… ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/11 "2005-02-13T14:32:41Z")
Roxy Music: “Chance Meeting” Donovan: “Hi It’s Been a Long Time” ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/12 "2005-02-13T15:00:40Z")
_Isn’t Life Strange_ Moody Blues ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/13 "2005-02-13T15:34:08Z")
_Desert Moon_ by Dennis DeYoung (formerly of Styx) ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/14 "2005-02-13T20:20:43Z")
Does _Night Moves_ by Bob Seger count? It’s just a guy remembering an old love, though, I think. The same is likely true of Paul Davis’ _'65 Love Affair_. Dating myself? Whatever do you mean? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/15 "2005-02-13T20:22:34Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > _Desert Moon_ by Dennis DeYoung (formerly of Styx) Oh, and I originally came into this thread with the intent to offer that one. Rats. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/16 "2005-02-13T20:34:24Z")
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue”. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/17 "2005-02-13T20:35:02Z")
Roy Orbison’s _Crying_ (best version imo: his duet with k.d. lang) What’s the song that begins with a line to the effect of “Saw my ex lover in the grocery store”? ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/18 "2005-02-13T20:45:11Z")
Remember _Walk On By_ sung by[Aretha Franklin](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006JKG3/ref=pd_krex_sd_0/002-9220895-2884852)? It’s one of my faves! ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/19 "2005-02-13T21:06:58Z")
The first one that popped into my head was “Ain’t It Funny How Time Slips Away,” by Willie Nelson. \*Well, hello there My, it’s been a long, long time How am I doing? Oh, I guess that I’m doing fine It’s been so long now, But it seems now, that it was only yesterday Gee, ain’t it funny, how time slips away. How’s your new love? I hope that he’s doin fine I heard you told him, That you’d love him till the end of time Now, that’s the same thing that you told me Seems like just the other day Gee, ain’t it funny, how time slips away. I gotta go now I guess I’ll see you around Don’t know when though Never know, when I’ll be back in town But remember, what I tell you In time your gonna pay And it’s surprising, how time slips away…\* ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783/20 "2005-02-13T21:18:30Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > The first one that popped into my head was “Ain’t It Funny How Time Slips Away,” by Willie Nelson. And this one made me think of Conway Twitty’s _Hello Darling_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-songs-about-chance-encounters-with-old-lovers/289783.md?page=2)