Stromae is a Belgian singer who managed to escalate into the musical area thanks to his talent.
Among his hit songs there are Alors on Dance and Papaoutai.
The song Papaoutai was written by Stromae and it means Papa où t'es – a French expression for Dad, where are you. The song was released on 13th of May, 2013 and it took part of the second album of Stromae: Racine Carrée.
The inspiration for this song came from the Stromae’s childhood. He was raised only by his mother and now, when he’s a grown man, he wrote those lyrics for his father. The title represents a rhetorical question: Papa où t'es? Being marked by the absence of one parent, Stromae placed his childhood drama on some cheerful musical notes. That’s the way he chose for encouraging the other kids in similar situations.
Speaking of the musical notes, Stromae’s song has an alert rhythm.
The musical pulse contains house and electro influences and that’s why Stromae’s style is so particular. Besides that, it is amazing how a sad life lesson can be offered on some cheerful musical notes. We thought it’s important to create the piano notes for the lovers of Stromae’s music in order to offer the possibility of reinterpret this song. Take a look over the piano sheet we made for you!
In addition, the song is accompanied by an expressive music video created by Raf Reyntjens. The video outlines the idea from the lyrics: the destitution of a father. In a creative way, Reyntjens shows this family drama.
The video presents a young boy who wants to talk to his dad, but his dad is a figure of wax, just a physical presence – doesn’t offer him attention, affection or love. The end of the video presents the sad truth: the kids will always take the example of their parents. In this case, the boy also becomes an emotionless figure. The video was well-received, having a big number of views on Youtube.
In this combination -great lyrics, catchy rhythm and expressive video- Stromae quickly entered into musical charts and earned some important positions.
As an example, the song Papaoutai was on the 1st position in the Belgium musical chart Ultratop. Also, in countries like France, Romania, Finland or Russia, Papaoutai earned important positions in musical charts.
Therefore, Papaoutai is a strong story sung on happy rhythm, being in the same time a sign of warning for all the fathers in the world who make their children ask papa où t'es?
