1) Raphaël Haroche, born on 7 November 1975 in Paris, Île-de-France, France, is a French singer who performs under the name Raphael. His father is Russian and his mother is from Argentina.
He began his public career with the song "Cela Nous Aurait Suffi (Dayenou)", featured on his critically-acclaimed debut album Hôtel de l'Univers in 2001. His first major public hit was "Sur La Route", a duet with French long-time rock legend Jean-Louis Aubert. His second album, La Réalité (2003), was met with successes both critical and commercial, and Raphael has been on the road ever since, playing gigs all over France. After the release of super-hit album Caravane, best-selling French LP of 2005 helped by catchy-yet-thought-provoking tunes such as "Caravane," "Ne Partons Pas Fâchés," "Et dans 150 ans," or "Schengen", he went on to win three 'Victoires de la Musique'.
His current partner is Mélanie Thierry (actress and model).
2) Pianist and composer Phil Raphaël was born in New York in 1930 and an active member of the capital of bop’s music scene during the 1950s, occasionally playing with Charlie Parker and saxophonist John Eardley. The only recorded trace of his activities is a session he did with the legendary trumpet player Red Rodney for the Prestige label in 1951. According to the liner notes, Phil Raphael also played in Tommy Dorsey and Stan Kenton’s big bands – although there is no recorded proof of this – and moved to Las Vegas for a while. It is unknown exactly when he appeared on the Belgian scene, nor when he disappeared from the musical life of Brussels, but he did play at the Pol’s club where his wife worked as a cloakroom assistant during the 1970s. The recording session for ‘Stop, Look, Listen’ took place on 3rd June 1972 and although the character and story of the leader remain a mystery, his Belgian accompanists were well-known figures on the Brussels scene. Drummer Robert Pernet, vibraphone player and percussionist Johnny Perret and double bass player Paul Dubois played and recorded with Toots Thielemans, Bobby Jaspar and many others for thirty years or so. Unfortunately, Paul Dubois, the only surviving member of the rhythm section, who played just this once with the pianist, has no memory of Raphael or of the opera singer Rose Thompson, whose voice lights up the arrangements. However, the real mystery surrounding this album - even more than the circumstances in which it came into existence - is the magical nature of the compositions. Raphael manages to create a unique alchemy on every track, a harmonious blend of very different musical styles: be-bop, opera, free jazz, and rock. Many musicians tried their hand at fusion around that time, but this album is unequalled in its lyrical, poetic chemistry. Stop, look, listen…
Déjà Vu
Raphaël Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Poussant la porsche blanche
Des paysages, des avalanches
Est-ce que je n'ai pas rêvé tout ça ?
Est-ce tu as vu le même film que moi, le même film que moi ?
Déjà vu…
Ni brûlure, ni piqûre ?
Sous un ciel idéal
C'était dans quelle vie déjà les cris et les lois ?
Les voitures pour la folie ?
Et l'espace de tes bras ?
Est-ce que je n'ai pas rêvé tout ça ?
Est-ce tu as vu le même film que moi, le même film que moi ?
Déjà vu…
Et c'était quelle année déjà
On dormait avec le petit ?
Et des routes enlacées(…)
Est-ce que je n'ai pas rêvé tout ça ?
Est-ce tu as vu le même film que moi, le même film que moi ?
Déjà vu…
Et c'était quelle année déjà
On dormait avec le petit ?
Et des routes enlacées(…)
Est-ce que je n'ai pas rêvé tout ça ?
Est-ce tu as vu le même film que moi, le même film que moi ?
Déjà vu…
The lyrics of Raphaël's song, Déjà Vu, capture a longing for a past that was better and happier than the present. The opening lines ask about a past year when the singer and someone else went on vacation, driving a white Porsche through landscapes and avalanches. The question is followed by wondering if it was all a dream, if the person the singer is speaking to has seen the same movie that he has. The refrain of "Déjà Vu" adds to this feeling of a repeated experience, of being stuck in a cycle of the past. The following verses describe a time when nothing hurt, when the sky was always ideal, and when the singer was held in someone's arms. The song culminates in a memory of a year when the singer slept next to a child and hugged winding roads. The final refrain of "Déjà Vu" leaves the listener feeling as though they are caught in a never-ending loop of nostalgia.
The song resonates with anyone who has mourned the passing of time, as Raphaël sings of memories that feel so real it's as though they've happened before. It taps into the universal human experience of wanting to go back to a happier, simpler time, and the impossibility of doing so. The lyrics speak to the ways in which people become trapped in cycles of nostalgia and memory, and the longing that can accompany that. The song is a reminder that no matter how much someone tries to hold onto the past, time moves forward, and eventually, memories are all that are left.
Line by Line Meaning
C'était quelle année déjà qu'on partait en vacances ?
In what year did we leave for vacation?
Poussant la porsche blanche
Pushing the white Porsche
Des paysages, des avalanches
Landscapes, avalanches
Est-ce que je n'ai pas rêvé tout ça ?
Did I dream all of that?
Est-ce tu as vu le même film que moi, le même film que moi ?
Did you see the same movie as me, the same movie as me?
Déjà vu…
Already seen...
C'était quelle année déjà où rien ne faisait mal ?
In what year did nothing hurt?
Ni brûlure, ni piqûre ?
No burns, no stings?
Sous un ciel idéal
Under an ideal sky
C'était dans quelle vie déjà les cris et les lois ?
In what life were there screams and laws?
Les voitures pour la folie ?
Cars for madness?
Et l'espace de tes bras ?
And the space of your arms?
Et c'était quelle année déjà On dormait avec le petit ?
And in what year did we sleep with the little one?
Et des routes enlacées(...)
And intertwined roads(...)
Contributed by Adrian K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.