Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)

"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 (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" 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". "To Step Aside" reached number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and number eight on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 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) 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

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" Chart (1996) Position Australia (ARIA)[35] 97

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	[36]
	2 September 1996	2×12-inch vinyl		[37]
Japan	11 September 1996	Maxi-CD	EMI Parlophone	[38]
	29 January 1997	Mini-CD	EMI	[39]

References

1. Edwards, Luke; Elliott, Mark (16 June 2023). "Best Pet Shop Boys Songs: 30 Synth-Pop Hits Always On Our Mind". Dig!. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
2. Elliott, Mark (2 September 2021). "Bilingual: How Pet Shop Boys Caught the Latin-Pop Wave First". Dig!. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
3. Edwards, Luke (19 November 2020). "Pet Shop Boys Songs: 20 Synth-Pop Hits Always on Our Mind". Dig!. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
4. Jones, Ross (17 August 1996). "Reviews: Singles". The Guardian.
5. "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 3 August 1996. p. 21. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
6. Jones, Alan (20 July 1996). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week. p. 42. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
7. Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is) (UK & Australian CD1 liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1996. CDR 6443, 7243 8 83147 2 5.
8. Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is) (Japanese maxi-CD single liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. EMI Music Japan, Parlophone. 1996. TOCP-8978.
9. Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is) (UK & Australian CD2 liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1996. CDRS 6443, 7243 883162 2 4.
10. Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is) (UK cassette single sleeve). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1996. TCR 6443.
11. Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is) (European CD single liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1996. 7243 883194 2 3.
12. Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is) (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. EMI Music Japan. 1997. TODP-2541.
13. Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is) and To Step Aside (US CD single liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Atlantic Records. 1997. 2-85430.
14. Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is) and To Step Aside (US 2×12-inch single vinyl discs). Pet Shop Boys. Atlantic Records. 1997. 0-85430.
15. Bilingual (UK CD album booklet). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1996. CDPCSD170, 7243 8 53102 2 5.
16. "Pet Shop Boys – Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
17. "Pet Shop Boys – Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
18. "Pet Shop Boys – Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
19. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 39. 28 September 1996. p. 22. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
20. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 38. 21 September 1996. p. 18. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
21. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 37. 14 September 1996. p. 16. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
22. "Pet Shop Boys: Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
23. "Pet Shop Boys – Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
24. "Pet Shop Boys – Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
25. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 37. 14 September 1996. p. 18. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
26. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (No. 188 vikuna 21.9. – 27.9. '96)" (PDF). DV (in Icelandic). 20 September 1996. p. 16. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
27. "Pet Shop Boys – Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
28. "Pet Shop Boys – Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
29. "Pet Shop Boys – Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
30. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
31. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
32. "Pet Shop Boys – Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
33. "Pet Shop Boys – Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
34. "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
35. "Australian Top 100 Singles 1996". The ARIA Report. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015 – via Imgur.
36. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 10 August 1996. p. 39. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
37. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 31 August 1996. p. 31.
38. "Se A Vida E | ペット・ショップ・ボーイズ" [Se a vida é | Pet Shop Boys] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
39. "Se A Vida E | ペット・ショップ・ボーイズ" [Se a vida é | Pet Shop Boys] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 22 January 2024.