To see the lyrics, click on the name of the version you are interested in (on the left).

This is a very sad song, which has not been played since 2001. The arrangement at that time was very accurate, enhancing all the sadness and beauty of the lyrics.

The song is about the difficulty of living a life that we know doomed to end anyway. It still goes on with the theme of how to live your life and Carpe Diem, which Neil Hannon favours so much.

Life on Earth is the title of a TV series presented by David Attenborough on BBC. However it is more likely that the title is a response to David Bowie's "Life On Mars", actually covered by Neil Hannon.

"Always to thine own self be true" is a line from the play Hamlet, by Shakespeare.

Bonjour Tristesse is a novel by Françoise Sagan and was adapted into a film with Jean Seberg.

On the album version, the drums play a rhythm similar to that of the Bolero by Maurice Ravel.