Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)

"Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 12 August 1996 as the second single from their sixth studio album, Bilingual (1996). The song is based on "Estrada Da Paixão" by African-Brazilian band Olodum,^[2] which Pet Shop Boys heard during the South American leg of their Discovery tour in 1994. The band shares songwriting credits with Pet Shop Boys.^[3]

"Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)"
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Bilingual
A-side	"To Step Aside" (US only)
B-side	"Betrayed" "How I Learned to Hate Rock & Roll"
Released	12 August 1996 (1996-08-12)
Genre	Latin pop[1] synth-pop[1]
Length	4:02
Label	Parlophone
Composer(s)	Ademario Wellington Epiderme Negra Nego do Barbalho Neil Tennant Chris Lowe
Lyricist(s)	Neil Tennant
Producer(s)	Pet Shop Boys Chris Porter
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Before" (1996) "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (1996) "Single-Bilingual" (1996)
Music video
"Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" on YouTube

"Se a vida é" spent eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number eight, and became a top-five hit in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, and Spain. In the United States, the song was released in 1997 as a double A-side with "To Step Aside". This version reached number eight on the Billboard Maxi-Singles Sales chart while "To Step Aside" by itself reached number one on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart.

Critical reception

Ross Jones from The Guardian described "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" as "a sexy and vibrant song", and a "life-affirming lambada". He added that "it's still one of the freshest, most joyous things you've ever heard."^[4] Music Week rated it five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week. The reviewer wrote, "Superlatives aren't enough for the best Pet Shop Boys single in years. Justice demands it be the biggest of summer hits."^[5] The magazine's Alan Jones commented, "Neil Tennant's melancholic voice is usually lost in a swirl of synths, but the Pet Shop Boys' upcoming single (...) is a delightful change of style. An extremely commercial and very positive song, it features a four-piece brass section, a guitar and 20 female drummers. The latter's inclusion gives a sometimes thunderous rumble to appropriate sections of the song, but the rest is very lightweight and breezy, with a vaguely Latin flavour floating in with the brass section. Another Top 10 hit."^[6]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" was shot at the Wet 'n Wild water theme park in Orlando, Florida, and features actress Eva Mendes in a small role as a teenager with her friends at the park. The video, directed by Bruce Weber, entered heavy rotation on MTV and VH1 that summer.

Translation

The correct English translation of "Se a vida é" from Portuguese is actually "If Life Is...". ("That's the way life is" would be "É assim que a vida é..." or "A vida é assim".) The other Portuguese lyric is "Essa vida é..." ("This life is..."), which sounds very similar to "Se a vida é".

Track listings

UK and Australian CD1; Japanese maxi-CD single[7][8] "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" – 4:01 "Betrayed" – 5:18 "How I Learned to Hate Rock 'n' Roll" – 4:40 "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (Pink Noise mix) – 5:27 UK and Australian CD2[9] "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (Mark Picchiotti's Deep and Dark vocal) – 7:58 "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (Mark Picchiotti's Shelter dub) – 8:40 "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (Deep Dish Liquid remix) – 9:57 "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (Deep Dish dub) – 11:46 UK cassette single and European CD single[10][11] "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" – 4:01 "Betrayed" – 5:17 Japanese mini-CD single[12] "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" "Go West"

US CD single[13] "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (album version) – 4:01 "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (Mark Picchiotti's Deep and Dark vocal) – 7:58 "To Step Aside" (album version) – 3:48 "To Step Aside" (Ralphie's disco vox) – 9:07 "The Calm Before the Storm" – 2:45 "Betrayed" – 5:32 US 2×12-inch single[14] "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (Mark Picchiotti's Deep and Dark vocal) – 7:58 "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (Deep Dish Liquid remix) – 9:57 "To Step Aside" (Ralphie's disco vox) – 9:07 "To Step Aside" (Hasbrouck Heights mix) – 8:50 "To Step Aside" (Davidson Ospina dub) – 7:30 "To Step Aside" (Ralphie's Old School dub) – 7:33 "To Step Aside" (Brutal Bill mix) – 7:50 "To Step Aside" (Ralphi's house vox II) – 7:32

Personnel

Personnel are adapted from the Bilingual album booklet.^[15]

• Pet Shop Boys – production
  • Neil Tennant – words, music
  • Chris Lowe – music
• Ademario – music
• Wellington Epiderme Negra – music
• Nego do Barbalho – music
• J.J. Belle – guitar
• Mike Innes – brass
• Noel Langley – brass
• Richard Sidwell – brass
• Andy Hamilton – brass
• SheBoom – additional drums and percussion
• Chris Porter – production, recording, mixing
• Bob Kraushaar – recording (SheBoom)
• Pete Gleadall – programming

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" Chart (1996–1997) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[16] 11 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 14 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] 50 Czech Republic (IFPI ČR)[19] 2 Denmark (Tracklisten)[20] 9 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[21] 24 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 3 France (SNEP)[23] 40 Germany (GfK)[24] 18 Hungary (MAHASZ)[25] 3 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[26] 30 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[27] 11 Netherlands (Dutch Single Tip)[28] 9 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[29] 24 Scotland (OCC)[30] 10 Spain (AFYVE)[31] 4 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 12 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 17 UK Singles (OCC)[34] 8 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[35] "To Step Aside" only 1 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[36] with "To Step Aside" 8

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" Chart (1996) Position Australia (ARIA)[37] 97 Germany (Media Control)[38] 93 Year-end chart performance for "To Step Aside" Chart (1997) Position US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[39] 35

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	12 August 1996	CD cassette	Parlophone	[40]
	2 September 1996	2×12-inch vinyl		[41]
Japan	11 September 1996	Maxi-CD	EMI Parlophone	[42]
	29 January 1997	Mini-CD	EMI	[43]