The Way Life's Meant to Be
"The Way Life's Meant to Be" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). The single peaked at number 30 on the German Media Control Singles Chart. The song is track five on the 1981 album "Time" and was the last track to be released as a single from the album in the UK. It starts with gentle violins, and continues with flamenco-like guitar playing, and castanets. The south Mediterranean sound continues throughout the vocal and choiring on the refrain. Continuing the theme of time  travel, the lyrics deal with the protagonist's Future Shock at seeing his town over a hundred years later, and his disappointment at how the future is not nearly as utopian as the people of 1981, himself included, had predicted. It was the first single since "Nightrider" in 1976 that failed to chart in the UK. The B-side was "Wishing" taken from the "Discovery" album. The song was recorded at the Polar Studios in Stockholm, unlike the majority of the songs of the album that were recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich. The Way Life's Meant to Be