That's life (that's life), that's what all the people say
You're riding high in April
Shot down in May
But I know I'm gonna change that tune
When I'm back on top, back on top in June

I said, that's life (that's life), and as funny as it may seem
Some people get their kicks
Stompin' on a dream
But I don't let it, let it get me down
'Cause this fine old world it keeps spinnin' around

I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate
A poet, a pawn and a king
I've been up and down and over and out
And I know one thing
Each time I find myself flat on my face
I pick myself up and get back in the race

That's life (that's life), I tell ya, I can't deny it
I thought of quitting, baby
But my heart just ain't gonna buy it
And if I didn't think it was worth one single try
I'd jump right on a big bird and then I'd fly

I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate
A poet, a pawn and a king
I've been up and down and over and out
And I know one thing
Each time I find myself layin' flat on my face
I just pick myself up and get back in the race

That's life (that's life), that's life
And I can't deny it
Many times I thought of cuttin' out but my heart won't buy it
But if there's nothing shakin' come this here July
I'm gonna roll myself up in a big ball and die
My, my


Lyrics submitted by shelleyc_like_whoa

That's Life Lyrics as written by Kelly L. Gordon Dean Kay

Lyrics © DEMI MUSIC CORP. D/B/A LICHELLE MUSIC COMPANY

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

That's Life song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

10 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    I heard this on Tony Hawk's Underground 2 of all places. I absolutely fell in love and have been ever since. I used to think Frank was just for old, boring people, but that's so not true. The guy was a bad-ass.

    pleasebeatme92on February 02, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    my favorite frank sinatra song

    shelleyc_like_whoaon April 22, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Definitely one of Frank's all time BEST. One of my top 3 or 4 favorites of his.

    FilmScorpioon September 03, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    undoubtedly my favourite. I bought the infamous Frank Sinatra Greatest Hits LP at a garage sale in grade 9 and it's still in my frequently played pile. I live by this song.

    vulvaloveon September 21, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Best Frank Sinatra song. Hands down.

    MissFantabulouson December 08, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    amazing song makes u want to batter through lifes fucking hardest parts

    lol

    louxxxon February 03, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Great song! Nothing can't ever stop me...

    antox89on May 31, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Love the song. Love the artist. Gonna role with the punches. Learned from the best. Life is what we make of it and I don't plan to have sucky describe mine:)

    SweetCheeks2on January 19, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Not my favourite by this guy, but sometimes I just have to put it on repeat til everything feels better. I adore him.

    clare11208on September 01, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I had a dream this morning that everyone was singing this song on a tour bus and I started to get teary eyed as I listened. It is a happy song mixed with a bit of melancholy. It was my grandad’s favourite song my mother tells me. Maybe it was him sending me a message to get through this empty nest syndrome as my last child moves off to University. That’s Life !

    Valeriemon August 29, 2019   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.