That was then, this is now

Welcome to SoundCzech, our language series in which you can learn Czech phrases through song lyrics. In today’s edition the phrase to look out for is “To co bylo, neplatí”, featured in a song of the same name by Czech pop singer Hana Zagorová.

In English To co bylo, neplatí or a variation – to co bylo tenkrát už neplatí- translates as that was then, this is now. Or, what was true then, no longer is. In the song, Hana Zagorová sings To co bylo neplatí, tak jí věř, když řekla ti, ty jsi konečně má velká láska. What was, is no longer true, so believe her when she tells you, you are at last her great love. For whatever reason, the couple alluded to were unable to get together to fulfil their true feelings before. But that was then, this is now. Everything, the song suggests, has changed.

Another way of saying it is Co bylo, bylo - the past is past – used in situations where you no longer have a chance of influencing what happened and you have to draw a line. You can’t change preceding events, you can only look to the future. If it is a matter of reconciliation, after a falling out with some, you might say co jsme si, to jsme si– let bygones be bygones. What happened, happened, but you are both willing to put differences aside and move on. Things have changed.

Change is a constant element every single day, even though we often don’t want to see it. We may hold some things as more permanent, solid, dependable, which obviously isn’t true. You may have an iron-clad contract or pension plan or have been safely saving away when unexpectedly (it’s always unexpected) there is upheaval: to co bylo, už neplatí, a situation writer Douglas Kennedy describes perfectly in his corporate thriller The Job. In the book, all certainty falls away for the main character: one day he is on the up-and-up on the company ladder with a beautiful wife although living on credit beyond his means – and then the bubble pops. To co bylo, neplatí. Co bylo včera, není dnes. What was yesterday, is no longer… or what was yesterday, was simply… yesterday. Now it’s new rules – now it’s a new game.