"Papaoutai" is a song written and performed by Belgian musician Stromae. The song was released as a digital download in Belgium on 13 May 2013 as the lead single from his second studio albumRacine carrée. The song peaked at number one in Belgium and France and became the best selling single of 2013 in Belgium. A remix of the song featuring Angel Haze also appears on the album. The song was performed live at the 2013 NRJ Music Awards, where it featured will.i.am. The song is also featured on the 2014 dancing gameJust Dance 2015 for PAL regions and is available as DLC for NTSC regions.
Music video
The music video accompanying the release of "Papaoutai" was directed by Adam Nael and released on YouTube on 6 June 2013 at a total length of three minutes and fifty-two seconds. The video shows a young boy trying to interact with his father, who sits motionless, his expression and body resembling that of a mannequin. Father and son are dressed in identical outfits consisting of garishly patterned aqua shirts and shorts, knee socks, and orange bowtie. The video has the ambiance and decor of the 1950s. The boy looks longingly through the window at other parents and children who likewise wear matching outfits that identify them as pairs: a mother and daughter dressed similarly to Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz do a dance while walking their identical dogs; a garbageman and his son collect rubbish together while doing another dance; while still another father does an aggressive, threatening dance at his reluctant son before the boy finally begins to imitate him. Frustrated, the son does various dances in front of his own father until one of his efforts provokes the father to smile. Outside, father and son do their own dance together, but it is soon revealed that the boy is dancing alone and his father is still stiff and unresponsive. In frustration, the son joins Stromae on the sofa, assuming a rigid, lifeless position identical to his father's. The song and video refers to the absence of Stromae's father — who had little presence in Stromae's life even before being killed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide — and to Stromae's fear of being unable to be an effective father with no memory of ever having a father of his own. The video has received over 700 million views on YouTube.
Lyrics and Meaning
The title of the song is intentionally misspelled and really means "Papa Où T'es" which translates to English meaning "Where are you Dad?" The lyrics of the song are about a boy living with his mother who suspects something is wrong when he no longer sees his father. The mother tries to make up excuses to prevent the narrator from discovering the truth about the whereabouts of his father of which the mother is even unaware. The chorus of the song repeats the words "Où t'es papa, où t'es?", translating to "Where are you Dad, where are you?". The song continues with the narrator pondering about the day he would become a father and the worries that would arise from the pressure of being a parent. His worries also consist of whether he will be loved or hated by his children and how he will be able to take up the role. From this, it goes back to the chorus and ends with a repetition of the song before the first chorus, going back to his interaction with his mother about the whereabouts of his father.
Covers and parody
A translated English language cover by CUT_ titled "Papaoutai " was released in April 2014 charting in SNEP French Singles Chart. American A cappella group Pentatonix and violinist Lindsey Stirling covered the song on Pentatonix's album PTX Vol. 3, released on 23 September 2014. Erza Muqoli performed this song with self-accompaniment on piano for her audition for the ninth season of the French television show La France a un incroyable talent. Lamaoutai is a spoof created in November 2013 about the kidnapping of Serge the Llama from a circus in Bordeaux. Letícia Carvalho covered the song on The Voice Portugal on 11 October 2015. Alexandre Heitz performed the song on The Voice of Germany on 2 October 2018. Kenza Blanka covered the song on series 8 of The Voice UK on 9 February 2019, singing it in English and Arabic, and French. "Aifo?" is a Jewish reproduction of this song on YouTube uploaded by Matt Dubb feat. Beri Weber & Haim Israel on March 4, 2019.
