Laura
The Dave Brubeck Quartet Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

You know the feeling of something half remembered
Of something that never happened, yet you recall it well
You know the feeling of recognizing someone
That you've never met as far as you could tell, well

Laura is the face in the misty light
Footsteps that you hear down the hall
The laugh that floats on a summer night
That you can never quite recall
And you see Laura on the train that is passing through
Those eyes, how familiar they seem




She gave your very first kiss to you
That was Laura but she's only a dream

Overall Meaning

The Dave Brubeck Octet's song "Laura" invokes the feeling of nostalgia and reflection while portraying the idea of a half-remembered fantasy. The lyrics describe the experience of recognizing someone or something that we can't quite remember, but feels familiar. "Laura" is a name given to this person in the mist, who is a face in the misty light, footsteps that you hear down the hall, or a laugh that floats on a summer night that can never quite recall. The singer sees Laura on a train that is passing by with eyes that seem familiar, and then the lyrics reveal the truth that Laura only exists in his dream. Thus, the song elicits a strong sense of longing for those things that we have never truly experienced but which only exist in our imaginations.


One interpretation is that "Laura" is a symbol of the singer's unmet desires or romantic aspirations that he wishes to fulfill but cannot. The song also suggests the melancholic feeling that the memory of a person or a moment could be powerful enough to keep them alive even after they've gone. It may be a song about nostalgia, unrequited love, or longing for elusive memories of life.


Line by Line Meaning

You know the feeling of something half remembered
The feeling of barely recognizing something as if it's been partly forgotten


Of something that never happened, yet you recall it well
The feeling of knowing something deeply that has never actually occurred


You know the feeling of recognizing someone
The sensation of identifying someone you've never met before


That you've never met as far as you could tell, well
Someone who is unfamiliar, but you have a sense that you know them somehow


Laura is the face in the misty light
Laura is a person who appears elusive and hard to grasp


Footsteps that you hear down the hall
Footsteps that sound familiar but you can't place the person they belong to


The laugh that floats on a summer night
The sound of laughter that is heard in the night and feels nostalgic


That you can never quite recall
A memory that is fleeting and can't be fully recollected


And you see Laura on the train that is passing through
Imagining seeing Laura while watching a distant train pass by


Those eyes, how familiar they seem
Feeling intimately familiar with Laura's gaze


She gave your very first kiss to you
Laura gave you your first romantic kiss


That was Laura but she's only a dream
The realization that Laura is a figment of the imagination and not reality




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVID RAKSIN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

@pedronunez4507

Es una de las mejores versiones de Laura. Gloria y descanso eterno para Brubeck y los grandes que han actuado con el. Saludos desde España.

@sinprelic

i love it how on every single dave brubeck (quartet) video, everyone is mentioning how this is the most enchanting and beautiful music they have heard. it's a great feeling to know that this artist not only performed some good songs, but that his entire career and discography were one big artistic WIN.

@reeltapegone2823

One of my favorite Brubeck "pieces"...still give me chills !!

@bertdorf4

I live approximately 6 blocks from College of the Pacific, of which is now Named University of the Pacific. I've grown up around the Brubeck Institute, and what they have done for jazz musicians is just so immense. Brubeck is a major influence on us jazz musicians, and its a sad time around town, since his passing. We're having a memorial concert for him soon. May the legendary Dave Brubeck forever rest in peace and in music.

@27sepulchre

First time I've heard this, what an amazing interpretation, I'm a teenager again and that's about fifty years ago!

@elzbietaszeib8194

Ku pamięci Dave'a, szkoda że już go nie ma!

@omaraaron6973

Música perfecta para una noche oscura, viendo las calles moribundas y tristes de Lima o cualquier otro lugar, a cualquier hora, pero que sea con jazz, y con jazz del bueno.

@jazz4asahel

Now is the time to truly enjoy what Brubeck crafted in 1953. Safely said that in another hundred years this will be classical instruction.

@kocn53

Agreed. I don't know a lot about music, but I do know that Dave could and often did play in two keys at once. That gave the unique sound he had which no one else has ever quite duplicated. I wonder, if someone very musically knowledgeable but knowing nothing about Brubeck, looking at a transcription of a solo like that, could see what he was doing, or if it would just look like strange harmonies? BTW, graduate students have been doing theses on Paul Desmond solos for years. The way he could improvise was phenomenal. That team of Dave & Paul was a uniquely American phenomenon, the likes of which will never be equaled IMO.

@lauraprince1310

OMG, the song I was named after...not just Laura, but this, the most beautiful version ever...

More Comments

More Versions