What is the meaning of the phrase ‘life goes on’?
Normal life will resume no matter what.
What is the origin of the phrase ‘life goes on’?
The phrase ‘Life goes on’ is believed to date back many centuries. It’s a universal statement that crops up in many cultures and languages around the world. In French, it’s ‘la vie continue’, in Latin it’s ‘vita patitur’.
That said however, it became truly popularised in the English language through the writer and poet Robert Frost. In the year 1954, Robert Frost was interviewed by Ray Josephs in a Sunday newspaper supplement called This Week Magazine. Josephs asked Frost what was the most important thing he’d learned about life, since Frost had lived through the Great Influenza epidemic, of 1918 to 1920, also known as Spanish flu. Frost responded ‘In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.’
The phrase ‘life goes on’ can have more than one meaning. For instance, if someone has had to deal with a setback, you could encourage them not to give up by saying ‘life goes on’. Similarly, if you have had a setback, you could say ‘life goes on’ as a way to express how you’re not ready to give up yet.
The phrase ‘life goes on’ is often used during times of great upheaval, such as the breaking up of a relationship, or following the passing of someone during the grieving period. It also comes up in speeches, and in self-help literature.
What are some notable uses of the phrase ‘life goes on’?
There was a film called ‘Life Goes On’ released in 2009, there was a book called ‘life goes on’ published in 1933, and there was an American TV series called ‘Life Goes On’ in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
There have also been many songs called ‘Life Goes On’, including one by the Beatles in 1970, one by 2Pac in 1996, and one by BTS in 202. More recently, the singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has also released a song called Life Goes On in 2023.
