Éveillé means "awake" or "woken up." While it seems simple, its placement in the song's title, "Rêver Éveillé" (Dreaming Awake), makes it particularly intriguing.
This word creates a fascinating paradox, suggesting a state where the boundaries between dreams and reality blur. It perfectly captures the song's theme of living in a dreamlike state, where emotions and perceptions are heightened, even while conscious.
Rêver Éveillé invites us into a dizzying game of musical chairs where the music never stops and the lovers keep chasing the last empty seat. Claude Bégin and Claudia Bouvette sing from the viewpoint of two souls who feel brisé – cracked yet still glowing – as they replay the same movie on a different screen, hoping that maybe this version will give them a happier ending. The chorus flips between French and English, underlining the push-and-pull of their emotions: they are stuck in familiar déjà-vus, but they promise, I will love you like I should.
Rather than surrender to despair, the pair chooses to “rêver éveillé” – to daydream with their eyes wide open. In this half-real, half-imagined space, broken hearts can shine “de mille feux,” hands can still find each other in the dark, and the horizon seems to open just ahead. The song becomes a declaration that embracing fantasy can be a lifeline: if reality is paradoxical and painful, why not rewrite it in a dream where love finally “makes it good?”