Vaya Con Dios is a musical group from Brussels, Belgium founded in 1986 by … Read Full Bio ↴Vaya Con Dios is a musical group from Brussels, Belgium founded in 1986 by lead singer Dani Klein, contrabassist Dirk Schoufs, and Willy Lambregt. Their name is Spanish for "Go with God".

Dani Klein, the lead singer, and Willy Lambregt had previous success in the band Arbeid Adelt! and decided to form the band Vaya Con Dios together with contrabassist Dirk Schoufs, because their interests were with gypsy music, jazz and opera which are genres which they felt were underappreciated in Brussels.

Their first single "Just a Friend of Mine" has a Latin feel to it and became a big hit in France, selling over 300,000 copies. Willy Lambregt left the group and was replaced by Jean-Michel Gielen. Even though Vaya Con Dios had success in Latin countries, they remained largely unknown in the Netherlands partially due to being a Belgian band, but also because of their gypsy style. In the Summer of 1990, they finally broke through in the Netherlands with "What's a Woman?" peaking at #1 for three weeks, thus making Vaya Con Dios the second Belgian artists to have a #1 hit in the Netherlands; the first being Ivan Heylen in 1974. The song is about the difficulties of men and women who on the one hand need one another, yet sometimes have a difficult time understanding each other.

In 1991, Dani Klein and Dirk Schoufs decided to go their seperate ways and from then on the group consisted of only Dani Klein singng with various musicians. On 24 May 1991, Schoufs died of an AIDS-related illness, which he contracted due to his heroin addiction. Even though they were no longer a team, Dani was very saddened and the third album Time Flies is much more melancholic than the previous albums.

Even though the music and the composition of the band changed, Vaya Con Dios remained popular in large parts of Europe, especially France, Germany, and Scandinavia, until 1996, when Dani left the music business complaining of too much stress. She returned in 1999 as singer in the group "Purple Prose", also the title of the début album that same year. Vaya Con Dios returned in 2004 with a new album called "The Promise," released on an independent label.

In November 2006, Vaya Con Dios released a new album called 'The Ultimate Collection'. It's a CD and DVD of the acoustic concert in Brussels (Belgium) at 31 August 2006.

In total, Vaya Con Dios sold more than 7 million albums and more than 3 million singles

Philadelphia
Vaya Con Dios Lyrics

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Raindrops falling softly
As I walk on down the road
Neon lights flicker
Reflecting on my leather coat
A black guy passes me by
He's looking kind'a high
When I'm reaching for a smile
I see that strange look in his eye

Here I am in Philadelphia
And I'm walking in the rain.

You're out there in Compton.
Do you still remember my name?
I couldn't hear what he said
But I suddenly realised
Thousands thoughts go through my head
While his steps they follow mine
A woman must be crazy
To be out this time at night
Unless she's looking for some business
Unless she's feeling real uptight

Here I am in Philadelphia
And I'm walking in the rain.
You're out there in Compton.
Do you still remember my name?
Here I am in Philadelphia
And I'm walking in the rain.
You're out there in Compton.
Do you still remember my name?

Here I'm standing at the station
Waiting for my train to come
When that dude gave me a look
Made me wonder what I'd done
A woman must be crazy
To be out this time at night
Unless she's looking for some trouble
Unless she's out of her mind

Here I am in Philadelphia
And I'm walking in the rain.
You're out there in Compton
Do you still remember my name?
Here I am in Philadelphia
And I'm walking in the rain.
You're out there in Compton
Do you still remember my name?

Do you baby?
Do you remember?
Tell me baby?

Do you remember?
Remember my name?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Vaya Con Dios's "Philadelphia" document the thoughts of a woman as she walks through the city's wet streets. She is aware of her surroundings, watching neon lights flicker against her leather coat and observing the people she passes by. She encounters a "black guy," who seems "kind'a high." Although she tries to greet him with a smile, she senses a "strange look" in his eye. In the chorus, the woman questions an absent lover, asking whether he still remembers her name.

As the woman continues to walk, she feels a growing sense of unease. She contemplates the dangers of being a woman walking alone at night, and wonders if she is "looking for some trouble" or if she is "out of her mind." She eventually arrives at a train station, where she is again approached by the same man from earlier. This time, his gaze makes her "wonder what [she]'d done." The song ends with the woman once again questioning her distant partner, asking him if he remembers her name.

Line by Line Meaning

Raindrops falling softly
It's raining lightly.

As I walk on down the road
I'm walking down the road.

Neon lights flicker
The lights of the city are flickering.

Reflecting on my leather coat
The lights reflect on my leather coat.

A black guy passes me by
I see a black man walking by me.

He's looking kind'a high
He looks like he's under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

When I'm reaching for a smile
I try to smile at him.

I see that strange look in his eye
He looks at me in a strange way.

Here I am in Philadelphia
I'm in Philadelphia.

And I'm walking in the rain.
It's raining and I'm walking.

You're out there in Compton.
I wonder if you, who are in Compton, remember me.

Do you still remember my name?
Do you remember my name?

I couldn't hear what he said
I don't hear what the man says.

But I suddenly realised
But then I realize...

Thousands thoughts go through my head
Many thoughts come to my mind.

While his steps they follow mine
He follows me.

A woman must be crazy
It's crazy for a woman to be out at this time.

To be out this time at night
It's late at night.

Unless she's looking for some business
Except if she's a prostitute.

Unless she's feeling real uptight
Or maybe she's feeling anxious.

Here I am in Philadelphia
I'm still in Philadelphia.

And I'm walking in the rain.
I'm still walking in the rain.

You're out there in Compton
You're still in Compton.

Do you still remember my name?
Do you still remember my name?

Here I'm standing at the station
Now I'm at the station.

Waiting for my train to come
I'm waiting for my train.

When that dude gave me a look
When the man looked at me.

Made me wonder what I'd done
It made me wonder if I did something wrong.

A woman must be crazy
It's crazy for a woman to be out at this time.

To be out this time at night
It's late at night.

Unless she's looking for some trouble
Except if she's looking for trouble.

Unless she's out of her mind
Or maybe she's out of her mind.

Do you remember?
Do you remember?

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALBERT JACQUES LETECHEUR, DANIELLE MARIE J. SCHOOVAERTS, DIRK SCHOUFS, JEAN-MICHEL HENRI GIELEN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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