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
The Promise
Vaya Con Dios Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You say you love to love me
You say you love to love me baby
You think about me all the time
When you wake up in the morning
And in your sweet dreams at night
You say I'm always on your mind
That you would die if you would lose me
That I'm the flavour in your life
You say you love to love me baby
And if there's sadness in your eyes
It's ‘cos you want me for you only
And never want to say goodbye
Do you love me baby
Like you used to love me
Do you want me baby
Like you used to want me
But I don't know why
I can't believe what you say
After the Sunday you lied
About that phone call you made
No I don't why
Your heart went astray
When you made me your wife
After the promise we made
You say the girl meant nothing baby
It was a little game you played
To pass the time when you were lonely
While I was away
How could you purr to her now baby
The way you used to purr to me
How could you use the same words baby
Deceiving her deceiving me
The above lyrics are an expression of love and uncertainty in a romantic relationship. The singer is being reassured by her lover that he loves her, wants her, and thinks about her all the time. He promises her that she means everything to him and he cannot live without her. However, the singer is not sure if she can believe him after being lied to in the past. She is confused about his behavior and doubts his love for her.
The lyrics reveal the emotional turmoil of the singer, who is struggling to trust her partner after being betrayed. The sweet words of love and affection are contradicted by the past actions of the lover. The singer is questioning the authenticity of the promises made in the relationship, and whether they will be kept or broken.
The song captures the universal experience of uncertainty and doubt in a romantic relationship. It shows how love and honesty are integral to any relationship, and how betrayal can erode trust and undermine a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
You say you love me
You claim that you love me
You say you love to love me
You claim that you love the feeling of loving me
You say you love to love me baby
You claim that you love the sensation of loving me, and you address me affectionately
You think about me all the time
You constantly have thoughts of me
When you wake up in the morning
Your thoughts of me begin as soon as you awaken
And in your sweet dreams at night
Your thoughts of me continue even in your subconscious while you sleep
You say I'm always on your mind
You claim that thoughts of me occupy your mind constantly
That you would die if you would lose me
You suggest that the thought of losing me would cause you to die
That I'm the flavour in your life
You assert that I add spice and excitement to your life
And if there's sadness in your eyes
When you seem sad, it's because of me
It's ‘cos you want me for you only
You're sad because you desire me exclusively
And never want to say goodbye
You never want to leave me
Do you love me baby
Is your affection for me genuine
Like you used to love me
The way you loved me before
Do you want me baby
Is your desire for me sincere
Like you used to want me
The way you desired me previously
But I don't know why
However, I'm uncertain why
I can't believe what you say
I'm unable to trust your words
After the Sunday you lied
After the day you weren't truthful
About that phone call you made
Regarding the phone call you placed
No I don't know why
I'm not sure why
Your heart went astray
Your emotions became misguided
When you made me your wife
When we got married
After the promise we made
After our agreement
You say the girl meant nothing baby
You claim that the other girl held no significance to you
It was a little game you played
You acted out of amusement
To pass the time when you were lonely
To occupy yourself when you were alone
While I was away
During a period when I was absent
How could you purr to her now baby
How could you speak to her in such soft tones
The way you used to purr to me
In the same way you spoke affectionately to me
How could you use the same words baby
How could you say the same things to her
Deceiving her deceiving me
Tricking both her and me
Contributed by Lily T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Piotr Kaszkur
Pozdrawiam was Piotrek Kaszkur Geniusz Wybitny Muzyk
Ilana Pariser
Dani Klein and very special, love!