Life (Des'ree song)
Encyclopedia
"Life" is a popular song recorded by the British
pop
and soul
singer Des'ree
. It was the third single
from her third album Supernatural and was released on 2 June 1998. This song remains the biggest Des'ree's hit, peaking at number one in Austria
, Italy
, the Netherlands and Spain
.
s, phobia
s and travels around the world". The melody is "upbeat and jubilant". However, the banal lyrics and simplistic rhymes have been widely derided, with the song winning the "worst ever pop lyric" in a BBC poll, particularly for the verse:
In the music video, the singer is sitting on the back seat of a convertible car, driven by a chauffeur. Des'ree is initially sheltered from the sun by a black umbrella, which then flies away. The car is passing through sugar cane fields, apparently in Jamaica
. An aeroplane flies overhead, but instead of spraying pesticide
, it drops a host of butterflies
. The video was directed by the director Mike Lipscombe.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer Des'ree
Des'ree
Des'ree is an English pop/soul singer who was popular during the 1990s. She is well known for her hits: "Feel So High", "You Gotta Be", "Life", and "Kissing You"...
. It was the third single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from her third album Supernatural and was released on 2 June 1998. This song remains the biggest Des'ree's hit, peaking at number one in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the Netherlands and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Lyrics and music video
On an "innocuous tone", this playful song mixes "stories about superstitionSuperstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
s, phobia
Phobia
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational...
s and travels around the world". The melody is "upbeat and jubilant". However, the banal lyrics and simplistic rhymes have been widely derided, with the song winning the "worst ever pop lyric" in a BBC poll, particularly for the verse:
I don't want to see a ghost
It's the sight that I fear most
I'd rather have a piece of toast
Watch the evening news
In the music video, the singer is sitting on the back seat of a convertible car, driven by a chauffeur. Des'ree is initially sheltered from the sun by a black umbrella, which then flies away. The car is passing through sugar cane fields, apparently in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. An aeroplane flies overhead, but instead of spraying pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
, it drops a host of butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
. The video was directed by the director Mike Lipscombe.
Track listings
CD single - UK
CD maxi 1 - UK
CD maxi 2 - UK
|
CD maxi - Australia
12" maxi - UK
CD single - Promo
|
Peak positions
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
8 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
2 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
3 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
1 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 2 |
| German Singles Chart | 8 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
3 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 9 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 21 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 3 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
8 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1998) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 38 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 7 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 17 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 6 |
| French Singles Chart | 11 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 12 |