To listen to the track, click here (.mp3).

Track of the Day: “That’s Life” ­— Frank Sinatra

My grandpa sings karaoke to Frank Sinatra a lot.

I was thinking about him the other day, and I decided to play the one Sinatra album I own, “Frank Sinatra’s Greatest Hits.” “That’s Life” struck me as particularly catchy and a great song for a dreary February day.

“That’s Life” was written for Sinatra by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon and was released in 1966. Since then, it’s become an American classic, with its jazz-oriented style and Sinatra’s strong singing.

The upbeat melody provides a dynamic contrast to the song’s cynical lyrics, where Sinatra’s cheerful vocals describe the experience of being used, abused and down in the dumps. The phrase “that’s life” is used to describe the attitude of getting through bad times in hopes there will be good times to come.

Frank Sinatra died 10 years ago. People say that Sinatra was buried in a blue suit with a flask of Jack Daniel’s. His tombstone reads, “The best is yet to come.”

Clearly, his attitude toward life hadn’t changed much.