Laura
Toots Thielemans Lyrics


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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

Toots Thielemans's Laura is a song that captures the feeling of nostalgic longing for someone who seems to have been part of one's life, but in reality, was never there. The opening verse speaks of the eerie familiarity of something half-remembered, something that had not happened but still feels vivid in the memory. The next verse talks about recognizing someone that one had never met, indicating the feeling of déjà vu. The overall theme revolves around a person, called Laura, who is elusive, intangible, and only exists in the dream world.


Laura is the epitome of a 'muse,' the embodiment of an ideal partner, that one cannot seem to shake off. The chorus describes Laura as a vision that appears in moments of solitude, a face that materializes in the misty light, or a laughter that drifts by on a summer night. Although Laura remains an illusionary figure, the singer seems to be in love with her, as indicated in the line, "Those eyes, how familiar they seem, she gave you your very first kiss."


As the song draws to an end, the listener realizes that Laura is just a dream figure, a ghost of a past that was never there, just a figment of an imagination. The line, "But she's only a dream," indicates the finality of the situation: the perfect partner that the singer is in love with is an ideal that cannot be realized in the real world.


Line by Line Meaning

You know the feeling of something half remembered
You experience the sensation of something incompletely remembered


Of something that never happened, yet you recall it well
You vividly remember an event that actually did not occur


You know the feeling of recognizing someone
You have encountered the feeling of recognizing an individual


That you've never met as far as you could tell, well
You have never met that person before, as far as your knowledge goes


Laura is the face in the misty light
Laura is depicted as the figure seen through misty light


Footsteps that you hear down the hall
You observe footsteps that are audible, coming from down the hallway


The laugh that floats on a summer night
A laugh that travels through the air on a warm summer night


That you can never quite recall
You cannot precisely bring back to mind that memory


And you see Laura on the train that is passing through
You catch sight of Laura on a train as it swiftly goes by


Those eyes, how familiar they seem
Her eyes strikingly feel like you have seen them somewhere before


She gave your very first kiss to you
She was the one who gave you your first kiss ever


That was Laura but she's only a dream
However, all of that was just a figment of your imagination




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: David Raksin

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