Un soir de février, by Félix Leclerc

Notes and translations by Matthew and Pascale Shaftel

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This well-known song, sung by one of the most famous of French-language singer/poets, traverses the history of French-speaking Canada and its relationship to its British occupiers, then neighbors. Leclerc’s style, strongly influenced by French-Canadian folk song, should be familiar to fans of Bob Dillan, and it’s known more for its poetry than its tunefulness. Leclerc’s style influenced chansonniers across the world. The song opens with the battle of Québec (1759/1760), where the British army, led by General Wolfe, scaled the cliffs outside the city and surprised the French troops, led by Marquis Montcalm. From this point forward, Québec was controlled by the British. The song then moves to the nineteenth century, touching on an important uprising among the French Canadians against the British (the rebellions of 1837-1838) and on significant political changes made to appease the Francopohones, while reducing their political power in Canada as a whole. The song finally grants victory to the French Canadians—in a Stanley Cup hockey match! Our materials are drawn from the Battle of Québec and the rebellions of 1837-1838, including film clips from movies by the well-respected director, Pierre Falardeau.

Un soir de février by Félix Leclerc[1]

One Evening in February

En dix sept cent soixante[2] Un soir de février Il gelait à pierre fendre Au fort Stadacconé[3] Les colons morfondus De s'être trop battus On fermé les battants Des portes d'la rue Saint-Jean[4] Au diable les Habits Rouges[5] On finira la guerre demain Les Anglais sont g'lés dur A l'île aux Oeufs, quelqu'part au loin A soir on prend un verre de rouge[6] On s'déclame du Voltaire La bouche de nos canons Dit "non" et a raison! C'était mal calculé Les Anglais par miliers Escaladent le Cap[7] Y installent leur trappe Les Français réveillés En queue d'chemise dehors Se sont faits massacrés Le vent v'nait d'virer d'bord[8] En mille huit cent soixante[9] Nous ne sommes plus chez nous ici Mais quand même on tient l'coup A coup d'berceaux et d'génie[10] On nous a pris nos places Nos écoles, nos espaces Le chien ronge son os Mordu, mordra le temps venu...

In 1760 One evening in February It was frozen enough to split stone At Fort Stadacconé The colonists were dejected from Having fought too much We closed the battlements Of the gates on Saint John street To the devil with the Red Coats We’ll finish the war tomorrow The English are frozen hard On the Isle of Eggs, someplace far away This evening we’ll take a glass of red We’ll recite Voltaire The mouth of our canons Says “no,” and is right! It was poorly calculated English by the thousands Climb the Cape (and) There set their trap The awakened French Outside in shirt tails Got themselves massacred The wind had just changed directions In 1860 We are no longer at home here But nevertheless we hold out With a stroke of cradles and genius We took our own places Our schools, our spaces The dog gnaws its bone Bitten, will bite in the time to come...

Un soir de février (2)

Le temps venu est v'nu Un soir de février L'affaire était convenue Pendant la partie d'hockey[11] Demain, grasse matinée[12] Après-demain, dimanche Deux journées de congé Les Anglais font bombance... Nous étions six millions A pas suivre la joute A la télévision Et personne sur les routes Sur la pointe des pieds On a fait comme eux autres Pris possession des clefs Des ponts, des villes, de tout. Quand ils sont réveillés Cernés de tous côtés En queue d'chemise aussi Sous le gros parapluie[13] Ils se sont inclinés Coup d'état réussi Même qu'l' "Premier" a dit: "Baptiste, r'prends ton pays".[14] L'épilogue de l'histoire C'est pas d'avoir perdu l'Québec Qui a mis nos amis anglais En beau sifflette Z'ont perdu la partie La coupe finale à Montréal[15] Mais gagné notre esprit Depuis qu'ils parlent "joual"[16]

The time to come came One evening in February The situation was decided During the hockey game Tomorrow, [we’ll] sleep in The day after tomorrow, Sunday Two days of vacation time The English have a feast… We were six million Not following the tournament On the television And nobody on the roads On tip-toes We did as they had Took possession of the keys Bridges, cities, of all. When they woke up Encircled on all sides Also in shirt tails Under the large umbrella They bent Coup d'etat—succesful Even the "Prime minister" said: "Baptist, take back your country". The epilogue of the story: Is was not having lost Québec That put our English friends Into a pretty tizzy They lost the game The final cup in Montreal But won our spirit Since they speak "joual"

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[1] Félix Leclerc (1914-1988) est un géant de la chanson québécoise et d'expression française. Il est le premier chansonnier du Québec et un des premiers artistes de Québec à connaître un grand succès auprès du public français. Ses contes, chansons, pièces de théâtre et poèmes sont des chefs-d'oeuvres tantôt drôles, tantôt tragiques mais toujours brillants. À partir de 1970, secoué par les événements politiques, il devient de plus en plus engagé en faveur de l'indépendance nationale. Aujourd'hui, les prix annuels du gala de l'ADISQ portent son nom.

[2] The battle of Québec actually took place in September of 1759. Leclerc may be subtly referring to terrorist activities that occurred in February of 1960, or he may simply have preferred the sonorous alliterative quality of “dix sept cent soixante, un soir…” (note the six “s” sounds).

[3] The original American-Indian name given to the area that is now known as the upper city of Québec.

[4] A major street in Québec and the location of one of the many gates through the city walls.

[5] British soldiers.

[6] A glass of red wine (note the many significations of the color red: the british soldiers, the wine of the evening meal, the wine of the Catholic Communion, and they blood that the people of Québec have shed).

[7] Le Cap de Diamant is a steep cliff between the old city of Québec and the St. Lawrence river. It is called the diamond cape because the minerals in the cliff make it shine like “diamonds” in the sunlight. The French never expected the British to attempt to climb the cliff.

[8] “The wind had just changed directions,” meaning that the British were now in control of Québec.

[9] There was a violent uprising in 1837-1838, where several thousand French Canadians declared independence from the British, taking one city before being badly defeated. Nearly 100 of the revolutionaries were sentenced to be hung in 1839. After this, the British unified Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Québec), to give the English a majority (“we are no longer at home here.” In 1848, however, the Union Act was modified to constitutionalize the right of French Canadians to go to French schools and to grant broader freedoms to the Catholic Church.

[10] “With a stroke of cradles” may be another reference to the Catholic Church, which encouraged, coerced, and cajoled French Canadians into having enormous families, in part to tilt the population in their favor.

[11] In 1955, there was rioting during a Montreal Canadiens hockey game, due to the poor treatment of French-Canadian hockey star Maurice Richard by anglophone fans. Interesting note: the rules of ice hockey were established in Montreal by students at McGill University in 1879.

[12] Literally “fat morning,” because it was the last day to feast before the solemnities of Sunday. Note also the same derivation of Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday (the day before the start of Lent).

[13] “Umbrella” might be referring to the covered hockey stadium in Montréal. “Umbrella” is also a hockey formation used by the offense when they have a power play.

[14] Another reference, of course, to Catholicism. Specifically Saint John the Baptist, whose feast day is the national holiday of Québec.

[15] Leclerc is probably making reference to the hockey championships the Stanley Cup. Note that in 1960 the Montréal Canadians won the Stanley Cup finals for the fifth year in a row, beating Toronto both in 1959 and 1960. The Stanley Cup finals were actually started by a British Lord in 1892. The first Stanley Cup final was won by an amateur team from Montreal.

[16] Joual is a distinctly French-Canadian dialect that is made up of a mix of traditional French, select English words (often used incorrectly), and old French words. In 1968 Michel Tremblay's play Les Belles-Sœurs caused a scandal because it was written exclusively in Québec French joual. Now (after the Language Charter laws) few of the younger generation actually communicate in joual, reserving it for moments when comic emphasis might be appropriate. Excerpts of Tremblay’s play are found in the materials relating to Martin de la chasse-galerie.

Links to Supporting Materials

1- Extraits de Alexis De Tocqueville (notes de son voyage au Bas-Canada), d’Oscar Dunn et d’une motion présentée à l’Assemblée nationale en novembre 1982

2- Articles of Capitulation (1759) French p.1 p.2 English p.1 p.2

3- comte de Bougainville

4- Traité de Paris

4- James Wolfe et Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm (Biographies)

5- Vidéo clips du film de Pierre Falardeau 15 février 1839

6- A Soldier’s Account of the Campaign on Québec, 1759 et Brief Summary of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

7- Peintures, dessins et cartes de la bataille de Québec

8- Déclaration d’indépendance de la République du Bas-Canada (French and English)

9- Lettre adressée aux habitants de la province de Québec pour les inviter à former le quatorzième état des futurs Etats-Unis (French and English)

10- Paintings of the rebellion by the Patriotes that took place in Lower Canada (Québec) 1837-1838

13- Charles Hindelang : Lettre écrite la veille de son exécution en février 1839 (French and English)

14- Quelques notes sur Félix Leclerc

15- Chanson : Un Canadien Errant

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