There’s no warning when it comes
It comes from very far
It’s ambled from shore to shore
Like a vagrant
So one morning, when you awake
It’s almost nothing
But it's there, you feel a dull ache
In the hollow of your back
Le mal de vivre
The pain of life
That you must endure
'cause life is worth living
You could wear it across the shoulder
Or as a ring on your finger
As a flower in your buttonhole
Or pinned to your bosom
It's not always misery
It's not Gettysburg or trench warfare
But your eyes fill up with tears
When darkness comes, and at dawn
Le mal de vivre
The pain of life
That you must endure
'cause life is worth living
Whether one’s from Rome or America
From London or from Peking
Or from Egypt or even Africa
Or Saint-Martin’s gate in Paris
We all pray the same prayer
We all take the same path
Which feels so long when you have to walk it
With an aching back
Even when they try to understand us
Those who come to us with empty hands
We no longer want to listen
We can’t take it, we have no more strength
And alone in the silence
Of a night that won’t end
All of a sudden we think about
Those who did not make it out
Of their sorrowful life
The life of pain
That they had to endure
'cause life is worth living
And with no warning, it comes
Likes a stranger
Who’s ambled from shore to shore
With a sly smile
So one morning, when you awake
It's almost nothing
But it's there, It feels marvelous
In the hollow of your back
La joie de vivre
The joy of life
Oh, come live it
Your joyous life