Its lyrics detail the melancholic relationship between the two main characters Katie Morosky (Streisand) and Hubbell Gardiner (Robert Redford) in the 1973 film of the same name.

Additionally, "The Way We Were" was 1974's most successful recording in the United States, where it was placed at number one on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles list.

Several renditions and versions of the single exist, including one by American singer Andy Williams, who sang it for his thirty-second studio album of the same name in 1974.

American composer and producer Marvin Hamlisch created the final melody for "The Way We Were", which initially was a problem between himself and the singer.

[4] Shortly following the commercial success of "The Way We Were", Columbia Records began compiling tracks for the singer's then-upcoming fifteenth studio album The Way We Were.

[13][14] Streisand sings, "What's too painful to remember / We quickly choose to forget", where she longs for nostalgia, which Rolling Stone's Stephen Holden described as an implication that "resonate[s] in the current social malaise".

[13] "The Way We Were" received significant success after its original release in North America; Jon Landau of Rolling Stone claimed that its impact proved worthy enough to revive Streisand's career as a musical artist.

[16] Nevertheless, the mass appeal of the single was labeled by Turner Classic Movies's Andrea Passafiume as "one of the most recognizable songs in the world".

[21] According to the National Endowment for the Arts and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in their list of the top 365 "Songs of the Century", the single was placed at number 298.

[25] After steadily climbing the list for ten consecutive weeks, it topped the chart on February 2, 1974, where it knocked Ringo Starr's version of "You're Sixteen" (1973) from the highest spot.

[27][28] "The Way We Were" departed the Billboard Hot 100 on April 27 at the position of number 53; in total, it spent 23 consecutive weeks among the chart's ranking.

[30] On August 19, 1997, in addition to several of Streisand's recordings, "The Way We Were" was certified Platinum in the United States by the RIAA for sales exceeding one million copies.

[32] On its seventh week, it reached the top position that was previously held by Terry Jacks' cover of "Seasons in the Sun" (1973).

[40] In September 1994, Streisand released The Concert, which also included a live rendition of "The Way We Were" as performed at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

[42] The single was also placed on Live in Concert 2006 (2006) and Back to Brooklyn (2013), with its appearance on the latter consisting of a medley of both "The Way We Were" and "Through the Eyes of Love".

[59] Walter Afanasieff's contributions and added background vocals to the aforementioned edition were acclaimed by Los Angeles Times' Mikael Wood, who described the composition as a "fluttering" one.

[67][68] Due to the inclusion of "Try to Remember", the song features additional writing by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt.

He further critiqued Gladys Knight's "ironic" spoken monologue on the track by assuming she's "reflecting on the nostalgia that seems to be human nature".