"Se a vida é" is a Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

 song that was released as a single on 12 August 1996, and reached number eight in the 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 ...

.

The single was one of the most widely played records on UK radio in 1996 and its video set in a water park was shown on both MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 and VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 on a regular basis that summer.

It was the second single to be lifted from the album Bilingual

Bilingual (album)

Bilingual is the tenth album by the English dance music group Pet Shop Boys. It has sold about 1,000,000 albums world-wide.-Overview:...

, which saw the duo take on a Latin influence as a reaction to the Britpop

Britpop

Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...

 explosion that was prevalent at the time.

In the US, the single was released by Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 in with "To Step Aside" as a double A-side. Thirteen mixes of the track were commissioned and spread over various formats, several of them promotional only. The single did not chart in the States, but following its success in the UK it became a major success all over Europe.

Music video

The video for the single was shot at the Wet 'n Wild water theme park in Orlando

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 and features the actress Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes is an American actress.She began acting in the late 1990s, and after a series of minor roles and performances in several smaller films such as Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror and Urban Legends: Final Cut , she broke into the mainstream, appearing in leading roles in Hollywood...

 in a small role as a teenager with her friends at the theme park. The piece was directed by Bruce Weber

Bruce Weber (photographer)

Bruce Weber is an American fashion photographer and occasional filmmaker. He is most widely known for his ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Pirelli, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revlon, and Gianni Versace, as well as his work for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Elle, Life, Interview, and Rolling Stone...

.

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".

7": Parlophone / R 6443 (UK)

1. "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" – 4:01
2. "Betrayed" – 5:18

CD: Parlophone / CDR 6443 (UK)

1. "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" – 4:01
2. "Betrayed" – 5:18
3. "How I Learned to Hate Rock 'n' Roll" – 4:40
4. "Se a vida é" (Pink Noise mix) – 5:37

CD: Parlophone / CDRS 6443 (UK)

1. "Se a vida é" (Mark Picchiottis Deep and Dark vocal) – 7:58
2. "Se a vida é" (Mark Picchiottis Shelter dub) – 8:40
3. "Se a vida é" (Deep Dish Liquid remix) – 9:57
4. "Se a vida é" (Deep Dish dub) – 11:45

CD: Atlantic / 85430-2 (US)

1. "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" (Album version) – 4:01
2. "Se a vida é" (Mark Picchiotti's Deep and Dark vocal) – 7:58
3. "To Step Aside" (album version) – 3:48
4. "To Step Aside" (Ralphi's Disco vox) – 9:07
5. "The calm before the storm" – 2:45
6. "Betrayed" – 5:17

CD: Atlantic / n/a (US)

1. "To Step Aside" (Hasbrouck Heights mix) – 8:59
2. "To Step Aside" (Hasbrouck Heights radio mix) – 4:08
3. "To Step Aside" (Quiet mix) – 3:46
4. "To Step Aside" (Brazilian Anthem dub) – 9:00
5. "To Step Aside" (Champagne beats) – 3:57
6. "To Step Aside" (a cappella – verse 1 chorus) – 1:06
7. "To Step Aside" (a cappella – verse 2 chorus) – 0:58
8. "To Step Aside" (a cappella – bridge) – 0:18
9. "To Step Aside" (a cappella – verse 3 chorus) – 1:19
   • US CD-R promo "Vinnie Vero Mixes" studio acetate
     Acetate
     An acetate is a derivative of acetic acid. This term includes salts and esters, as well as the anion found in solution. Most of the approximately 5 billion kilograms of acetic acid produced annually in industry are used in the production of acetates, which usually take the form of polymers. In...
     
     

2x12": Parlophone / 12RD 6443 (UK)

1. "Se a vida é" (Mark Picchiotti's Deep and Dark vocal) – 7:58
2. "Se a vida é" (Mark Picchiotti's Deep and Dark instrumental) – 7:58
3. "Se a vida é" (Mark Picchiotti's Shelter dub) – 8:40

1. "Se a vida é" (Deep Dish Liquid mix) – 9:57
2. "Se a vida é" (Pink Noise mix) – 5:37
3. "Se a vida é" (Deep Dish dub) – 11:45
4. "Se a vida é" (radio mix) – 4:01

• limited edition, dayglow green/yellow vinyls

2x12": Atlantic / 85430-0 (US)

1. "Se a vida é" (Mark Picchiotti's Deep and Dark vocal) – 7:58
2. "Se a vida é" (Deep Dish Liquid mix) – 9:57
3. "To Step Aside" (Ralphi's Disco vox) – 9:07
4. "To Step Aside" (Hasbrouck Heights mix) – 8:50

1. "To Step Aside" (Davidson Ospina dub) – 7:30
2. "To Step Aside" (Ralphi's Old School dub) – 7:33
3. "To Step Aside" (Brutal Bill mix) – 7:30
4. "To Step Aside" (Ralphi's House vox 2) – 7:32

12": Specialty Records / DMD-2412 (US)

1. "To Step Aside" (Brutal Bill mix 2) – 10:03
2. "To Step Aside" (Quiet mix) – 3:42
3. "To Step Aside" (Ralphi's Old School dub 2) – 9:14
4. "To Step Aside" (Davidson Ospina dub 2) – 7:29

Richard Morel

Richard Morel

Richard Morel is an American singer-songwriter, DJ, remixer and record producer from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. He has worked extensively with Washington D.C.-based duo Deep Dish, co-writing, co-producing, performing and singing on many of their tracks, most notably on their albums Junk...

1. "Se a vida é" (Pink Noise mix) – 5:37
2. "Se a vida é" (Deep Dish Liquid mix) – 9:57
3. "Se a vida é" (Deep Dish dub) – 11:45

Mark Picchiotti

Mark Picchiotti

Mark Picchiotti is a club DJ, producer and songwriter based out of Chicago, Illinois.Picchiotti has been active in the dance music scene for over 20 years, establishing his reputation as a house, electronica and pop music DJ at Chicago clubs such as Shelter and Crobar. He has remixed songs by a...

1. "Se a vida é" (Mark Picchiotti's Deep and Dark vocal) – 7:58
2. "Se a vida é" (Mark Picchiotti's Deep and Dark instrumental) – 7:58
3. "Se a vida é" (Mark Picchiotti's Shelter dub) – 8:40

Ralph Rosario

1. "To Step Aside" (Ralphi's Disco vox) – 9:07
2. "To Step Aside" (Ralphi's Old School dub) – 7:33
3. "To Step Aside" (Ralphi's House vox ii) – 7:32
4. "To Step Aside" (Ralphi's Old School dub 2) – 9:14

Vinnie Vero

1. "To Step Aside" (Hasbrouck Heights radio mix) – 4:08
2. "To Step Aside" (Hasbrouck Heights mix) – 8:50
3. "To Step Aside" (Brazilian Anthem dub) – 9:00
4. "To Step Aside" (Champagne beats) – 3:57
5. "To Step Aside" (Quiet mix) – 3:42

Davidson Ospina

1. "To Step Aside" (Davidson Ospina dub) – 7:30
2. "To Step Aside" (Davidson Ospina dub 2) – 7:29

Bill Marquez (Brutal Bill)

1. "To Step Aside" (Brutal Bill mix) – 7:30
2. "To Step Aside" (Brutal Bill mix 2) – 10:03

Chart performance

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Germany	18
Austria	14
Finland	3
France	40
Sweden	12
Switzerland	17
Australia	11
New Zealand	24
UK	8