C'est La Vie

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

C'est la vie
Have your leaves all turned to brown
Will you scatter them around you
C'est la vie
Do you love
And then how am I to know
If you don't let your love show for me
C'est la vie

Oh c'est la vie
Oh c'est la vie
Who knows, who cares for me
C'est la vie

In the night
Do you light a lover's fire
Do the ashes of desire for you remain
Like the sea
There's a love to deep to show
Took a storm before my love
Flowed for you
C'est la vie

Oh c'est la vie
Oh c'est la vie
Who knows, who cares for me
C'est la vie

Like a song
Out of tune and out of time
All I needed was a rhyme for you
C'est la vie
Do you give
Do you live from day to day
Is there no song I can play for you
C'est la vie

Oh c'est la vie
Oh c'est la vie
Who knows, who cares for me
C'est la vie




Lyrics submitted by thedanman344, edited by emptiheart

C'est La Vie song meanings
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10 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment
    Cant believe no one has commented on this song... Just a beautiful song.
    the_dark_knighton July 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    "Who knows, who cares for me C'est la vie" Story of my fucking life. I think it's about a man loving a woman, and she leaves, but he still loves her. Typical lovesong. Still, beautiful song.
    scared_of_what?on October 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Here is a comment: Absolutely one of the most beautiful songs ever written. Listen to the live version, where Keith comes in with the accordian in the middle...it just transports you. Greg has one fantastic set of pipes.
    debrahon December 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    this became one of my absolute favorite songs in little over two minutes. its beautiful and an absolute marvel to listen to. i think the song is more about how much the singer loved his "love" no matter how off she was (out of tune and out of time). and he's asking for her to come back (is there no song i can play for you). c'est la vie is french, meaning it is the life. she was his life, he lost her, and desperately wants her back.
    brix3on April 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    this became one of my absolute favorite songs in little over two minutes. its beautiful and an absolute marvel to listen to. i think the song is more about how much the singer loved his "love" no matter how off she was (out of tune and out of time). and he's asking for her to come back (is there no song i can play for you). c'est la vie is french, meaning it is the life. she was his life, he lost her, and desperately wants her back.
    brix3on April 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    this became one of my absolute favorite songs in little over two minutes. its beautiful and an absolute marvel to listen to. i think the song is more about how much the singer loved his "love" no matter how off she was (out of tune and out of time). and he's asking for her to come back (is there no song i can play for you). c'est la vie is french, meaning it is the life. she was his life, he lost her, and desperately wants her back.
    brix3on April 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Amazing on so many levels.
    Arujeion November 30, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    For me, this song has a double meaning. It describes how I felt when my marriage hit the rocks & when I separated from my wife. Through all of this I wondered if she had any feeling left for me (Do the ashes of desire for you remain?) It seemed that nothing I did made the slightest difference. (Is there no song I can play for you?) It also makes me think of a girl I had a huge crush on many years ago. (She eventually married someone else.) It also reminds me of my latest crush. I met her online. Because we live rather far apart, the chances of meeting in person are slim. I think she may have similar feelings for me, but she hasn't said so. (Do you love/ And then how am I to know/ If you don't let your love show for me.) When she faced some serious personal problems awhile ago, I realized how strongly I felt & I wanted to come to her rescue. (Took a storm before my love flowed for you...) I know that there are so many things working against us & that it might never work out any way. (Like a song/ Out of tune and out of time...) Sorry for running on so much. This is such a beautiful & haunting song & it really speaks to me on a personal level. Who knows, who cares for me C'est la vie
    rockinazon June 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    One of the most sensational songs of our time.As to many songs though,the listener has missed the mark by a mile.So many interperet it as a beautiful or tragic love song But instead considerate it as the roller coaster of life. Not just a relationship, but a life time of miniscual moments.
    PeterGreybeon April 27, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion
    This song can be about lost love. It can also be about one's life. Some strive to live more fully than they do. I first heard it in 1973. As someone who now successfully deals with Depression, this song used to hit me so hard to the point of tears about my own life. It can still leave me that way, but not for the same reasons. I was the one out of tune and out of time. I felt unloved. I just wanted someone to love me as much as I did them. I finally found her in 2004. Sometimes, life requires more than the usual patience.
    ronald1128on November 09, 2021   Link

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