The One-Line Lyric Challenge

Papaoutai

Stromae, who's real name is Paul van Haver, is a Belgian singer, rapper and songwriter, predominantly in French. He created the stage name by inverting the syllables in the word "Maestro", which is commonly done in French slang.

The song title, Papaoutai is not actually a real word. It's a malapropism of "Papa où t'es", meaning "Papa where are you?". His own father died in the Rwandan genocide  , leaving him to grow up without a father figure. In stark contrast to the inspiration and lyrics behind it, the music and video are quite fun and danceable.

I included the English translation below. (If you speak French, feel free to correct it or give more context if needed.)
You can also turn on English subtitles with the video, if you want to follow along in English.

Song Prompt: "Papaoutai" by Stromae



Lyrics (English translation): ▼

Tell me where he comes from
Then I'll know where I'm going
Mommy says if you look hard
You'll always find it
She says he's never too far away
He leaves often for work
Mommy says, “Working is good”
Better than being in bad company
Right?

Where is your papa?
Tell me where is your papa?
Without even speaking to him
He knows what's wrong
Oh beloved papa
Tell me where you're hiding
I must have counted my fingers
At least a thousand times

Where are you? Papa, where are you?

Whether you believe it or not
One day we'll stop believing
One day we'll all be dads
And from one day to the other we'll disappear
Will we be hated?
Will we be admired?
Just passing on genes or geniuses?
Tell us who gives birth to these irresponsible people?
Tell us who, look

Everyone knows how to make babies
But no one knows how to make fathers
Mr. Know-It-All must have inherited it
Should it be sucked out of the thumb

colloquial saying similar to "pull it out of one's butt"

or what?
Tell us where is it hidden?
We must have bitten our fingers at least
A thousand times

Where are you? Papa, where are you?

Where is your papa?
Tell me where is your papa?
Without even speaking to him
He knows what's wrong
Oh beloved papa
Tell me where you're hiding
I must have counted my fingers
At least a thousand times

Where are you? Papa, where are you?

Happy writing, all!