Vivir Mi Vida
Marc Anthony · 2013 · written by Khaled, RedOne, Alex Papaconstantinou, Björn Djupström & Bilal Hajji, from the album 3.0
No story, just a decision: laugh, dance and live. The Algerian pop hit that Marc Anthony turned into one of the biggest salsa songs of the 2010s.
The story
1.The decision
The singer has made up his mind: he's going to laugh, he's going to dance, he's going to live his life.
2.Rain
Sometimes the rain comes, he says, and it washes the wounds clean. Even a few drops can end a drought.
3.Why cry
So why cry, why suffer? A sorrow that hurts gets forgotten, and life is there to be lived.
4.Forward
Live in the moment, keep dreaming and dancing, and keep going forward.
Key phrases
- “Voy a reír, voy a bailar”I'm going to laugh, I'm going to danceThe song's opening decision, in the simplest words possible.
- “Vivir mi vida, la-la-la-la”Live my life, la-la-la-laThe chorus: the title, and a melody that needs no words.
- “A veces llega la lluvia”Sometimes the rain comesHard times, in the song's picture, are rain: they come, and they clean the wounds.
- “Y para qué llorar, pa' qué”And why cry? What for?Pa' is para with the end dropped, the way the Caribbean speaks. ¿Pa' qué? is “what for?”.
- “Si duele una pena, se olvida”If a sorrow hurts, it gets forgottenPena is sorrow here. The song's cure for it is to keep living.
Context
It's a Spanish version of “C'est la vie” (2012) by Khaled, the Algerian king of raï, written with the producer RedOne and others.
Marc Anthony, born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, recast it as salsa with the producer Sergio George for 3.0 (2013), his first album of new salsa in more than a decade. It won the Latin Grammy for Record of the Year and became a worldwide hit.
Anthony also played Héctor Lavoe in the film El Cantante, so this is where the story of these songs meets the present.
On the dance floor
Modern salsa at its most polished: a crisp, fast beat, big brass and a chorus you can sing after one listen. You'll hear it at almost every social.
The chorus comes early and keeps coming back, so it's easy to find your one and ride it.
The “la-la-la” is the part the whole room sings.
This is our own retelling of the song, not its lyrics or a translation of them: the few short phrases quoted are there to explain what they mean. The song belongs to its writer, Khaled, RedOne, Alex Papaconstantinou, Björn Djupström & Bilal Hajji.