Emerson, Lake & Palmer – C’est la vie

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Emerson, Lake & Palmer were progressive rock’s first supergroup. Greeted by the rock press and the public as something akin to conquering heroes, they succeeded in broadening the audience for progressive rock from hundreds of thousands into tens of millions of listeners, creating a major radio phenomenon as well. Their flamboyance on record and in the studio echoed the best work of the heavy metal bands of the era, proving that classical rockers could compete for that arena-scale audience. Over and above their own commercial success, the trio also paved the way for the success of such bands as Yes, who would become their chief rivals for much of the 1970s.

Keyboardist Keith Emerson planted the seeds of the group in late 1969 when his band the Nice shared a bill at the Fillmore West with King Crimson, and the two first spoke of the possibility of working together. After the Crimson lineup began disintegrating during their first U.S. tour, Lake opted to leave the group. Upon officially teaming in 1970, Emerson and Lake auditioned several drummers before they approached Carl Palmer, not yet 20 years old and already an overpowering talent, as well as a former member of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster.

The trio’s first rehearsals mostly picked up from the Nice’s and King Crimson’s respective repertoires, including such well-known numbers as “Rondo” and “21st Century Schizoid Man.” In August of 1970, ELP played their first show at the Plymouth Guildhall, just ahead of the Isle of Wight Festival in August of 1970, where they astonished more than half a million onlookers with their sound and instrumental prowess. The group’s self-titled debut album, comprised of their strongest early originals and two dazzling classical adaptations — filled with rippling piano and synthesizer playing by Emerson and lightning-fast drumming by Palmer, and anchored around Lake’s bass work — was finished the following month and released in November. That album was an instant success, rising to the Top Five in England and the Top 20 in America with considerable help from a last-minute addition — pressed to fill out the running time of the album, the group settled on a composition that Lake had written as a boy, called “Lucky Man.” The latter became their debut single and made the Top 50 in America.

C’est la vie

C’est la vie
Have your leaves all turned to brown
Will you scatter them around you
C’est la vie
Do you love
And then how am I to know
If you don’t let your love show for me
C’est la vie

Oh c’est la vie
Oh c’est la vie
Who knows, who cares for me
C’est la vie

In the night
Do you fight a lover’s fire
Do the ashes of desire for you remain
Like the sea
There’s a love to deep to show
Took a storm before my love
Flowed for you
C’est la vie

Oh c’est la vie
Oh c’est la vie
Who knows, who cares for me
C’est la vie

Like a song
Out of tune and out of time
All I needed was a rhyme for you
C’est la vie
Do you give
Do you live from day to day
Is there is no song I can play for you
C’est la vie

Oh c’est la vie
Oh c’est la vie
Who knows, who cares for me
C’est la vie

C’est la vie – Emerson, Lake & Palmer