Hello, In this song, for which he wrote the lyrics and music, Stromae evokes the absence of his father using a clever play on words (Papaoutai = papa ou t'es = daddy where are you). A way for the artist to exorcise a terrible childhood wound. Indeed, Stromae was born to a Belgian mother and a Rwandan father. He was an architect and went back and forth between Belgium and Rwanda where he had a second family. Stromae saw him very rarely, less than twenty times before he was assassinated during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. His mother couldn't handle telling him that, so she told him his father was just 'away'. Only years later he found out about the truth. So the song is not completely biographic but he took elements of his real life for writing this song. Stromae is a great artist and I invite you to watch, read the lyrics (same if it's french) and listen to the different rhythms he uses. Some titles that I recomend you : "Carmen," "Quand c'est", "Tous les mêmes, " Formidable", "L'Enfer", "Fils de joie'. Have a good day !
Correct this song can be translated in many different aspect. Face value: where are you dad? in Stromae's case his dad was killed in Rwanda. The second is general: most father's play an absent role in their children's upbringing.
Not understand the lyrics, you're missing a large part of the genius of this song. Why don't you read the lyrics before hand, maybe? At least you'll be in a better place to understand what's going (and the context you're looking for). Stromae is a brilliant artist. Much more for you to uncover.
Just read the lyrics if you want some context 😂
Imagine seeing words on a screen after 0.5 seconds and flipping out. Dont bother reading the comments either lol
The lyrics are the context.
So you missed the genius of the song becos you couldnt read the subtitles...lol.😂
Hello,
In this song, for which he wrote the lyrics and music, Stromae evokes the absence of his father using a clever play on words (Papaoutai = papa ou t'es = daddy where are you).
A way for the artist to exorcise a terrible childhood wound.
Indeed, Stromae was born to a Belgian mother and a Rwandan father. He was an architect and went back and forth between Belgium and Rwanda where he had a second family. Stromae saw him very rarely, less than twenty times before he was assassinated during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. His mother couldn't handle telling him that, so she told him his father was just 'away'. Only years later he found out about the truth. So the song is not completely biographic but he took elements of his real life for writing this song.
Stromae is a great artist and I invite you to watch, read the lyrics (same if it's french) and listen to the different rhythms he uses.
Some titles that I recomend you :
"Carmen,"
"Quand c'est",
"Tous les mêmes,
" Formidable",
"L'Enfer",
"Fils de joie'.
Have a good day !
Correct this song can be translated in many different aspect. Face value: where are you dad? in Stromae's case his dad was killed in Rwanda. The second is general: most father's play an absent role in their children's upbringing.
subtitles are how the rest of the world watches y'all's Hollywood movies, tv shows and listens to your music. I just can't with (most) Americans
Not understand the lyrics, you're missing a large part of the genius of this song. Why don't you read the lyrics before hand, maybe? At least you'll be in a better place to understand what's going (and the context you're looking for). Stromae is a brilliant artist. Much more for you to uncover.
Please do more Stromae reactionss 🥺🥺
Why do you bother?