Where did the phrase "life is just a bowl of cherries" come from, and what does it mean?

Answer 1

It came from a wonderful song from the 1930's, lyrics here:

Life is just a bowl of cherries;
Don't make it serious;
Life's too mysterious.
You work, you save, you worry so,
But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go.
So keep repeating it's the berries;
The strongest oak must fall.
The sweet things in life
To you were just loaned,
So how can you lose what you've never owned?
Life is just a bowl of cherries,
So live and laugh at it all.

(From cached listserv item:) "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries" was the title of a song by Lew Brown and Ray Henderson, sung by Ethel Merman in Scandals (1931). I don't know if the phrase predates that: there was a phrase in the 17th century, "Life is but a cherry-fair", but that meant "Life is very short."

Hope this helps. And this is *long* before my time, thank you!!

Answer 2

It means in every sweet bite of life you hit a hard spot. The seed.

Answer 3

cherrios. it was a cereal that didn't last long but the phrase did.