Mon Pays, by Gilles Vigneault
Best known by outsiders for its frigid winters and its strong self-protectionist stance, the province of Qubec is seen by many as a vast and cold land. Gilles Vigneault presents a more realistic picture in his song Mon Pays, examining the paradoxes of a country that is not a nation, and of a winter that has at its heart a warm and inviting people. One of the most famous of all Qubecois songs, it evokes many of the elements and characteristics that shape the people of Qubec. Among these are, of course, winter, the Catholic Church, song, hospitality, and a fierce love of the homeland. Vigneaults style is similar to Leclercs and has helped to define a distinctly French-Canadian musical genre (copied by many in France, incidentally). Our materials will relate to this song through images of winter, including the famous winter carnival; details about the first snowmobiles, created by the Bombardier company in Qubec; and interviews with Gilles Vigneault himself.
Mon pays[1]
by Gilles Vigneault[2] |
My Country
|
|
Mon pays ce n'est pas un
pays, c'est l'hiver Mon jardin ce n'est pas un
jardin, c'est la plaine Mon chemin ce n'est pas un
chemin, c'est la neige Mon pays ce n'est pas un
pays, c'est l'hiver[3] Dans la blanche crmonie O la neige au vent se
marie Dans ce pays de poudrerie Mon pre a fait btir
maison Et je m'en vais tre fidle sa manire, son modle La chambre d'amis sera
telle Qu'on viendra des autres
saisons Pour se btir ct
d'elle[4] Mon pays ce n'est pas un
pays, c'est l'hiver Mon refrain ce n'est pas un
refrain, c'est rafale Ma maison ce n'est pas ma
maison, c'est froidure Mon pays ce n'est pas un
pays, c'est l'hiver Dans mon grand pays
solitaire Je crie avant que de me
taire tous les hommes de la
terre Ma maison c'est votre
maison Entre mes quatre murs de
glace Je mets mon temps et mon
espace prparer le feu, la place Pour les humains de
l'horizon Et les humains sont de ma
race[5] Mon pays ce n'est pas un
pays, c'est l'hiver Mon jardin ce n'est pas un
jardin, c'est la plaine Mon chemin ce n'est pas un
chemin, c'est la neige Mon pays ce n'est pas un
pays, c'est l'hiver Mon pays ce n'est pas un
pays, c'est l'envers D'un pays qui n'tait ni
pays ni patrie Ma chanson ce n'est pas une chanson, c'est ma vie C'est pour toi que je veux
possder mes hivers[6] |
My
country isn't a country, it's winter My
garden isn't a garden, it's the plain My
path isn't a path, it's the snow My country isn't a country, it's winter In
the white ceremony Where
the snow marries the wind In
this land of blizzards My
father had a house built And
I'm going to be faithful To
his ways, to his example The
guest room will be such That
one will come, from the other seasons To build beside it My
country isn't a country, it's winter My
refrain isn't a refrain, it's a gust My
house isn't my house, it's coldness My
country isn't a country, it's winter In
my big, solitary country I
cry out before I am silenced To
everyone on the earth My
house is your house Between
my four walls of ice I
put my time and my space To
prepare the fire, the place For
the humans of the horizon And
the humans are of my race My
country isn't a country, it's winter My
garden isn't a garden, it's the plain My
path isn't a path, it's the snow My
country isn't a country, it's winter My country isn't a country, it's the
contrary Of a country that was neither country
nor nation My song isn't a song, it's my life It's for you that I want to possess my winters |
[1] Although Mon Pays is hardly subtle in its political engagement, its juxtaposition of an external coldness of winter with an internal warmth of human character is unique and will be the focus of our discussion. Note that wintry imagery is an essential feature of Qubcois art, literature, poetry, and music.
[2] Gilles
Vigneault est n Natashquan (1928), une petite ville au bord du fleuve
St-Laurent au Qubec. Aprs des tudes universitaires, il enseigne et crit de
nombreux textes et recueils de pomes. Tout comme
Flix Leclerc, c'est par la littrature qu'il arrive la chanson. En 1960
Gilles Vigneault devient pote chantant. Il crit, compose et interprte
des chansons qui voquent les diverses facette se son pays et de sa
culture. Une autre de ses chansons
populaire Gens du Pays est souvent chant lors de crmonies et runions officielles. Plusieurs la considre lhymne national
du Qubec. Gilles Vigneault nous
donne la dfinition suivante du terme de lhiver: L'hiver,
ici, ce n'est pas gris, c'est blanc. Ce n'est pas frais, c'est froid boral. Ce
n'est pas laid, c'est beau. Mais hlas, pour le moment, ce n'est pas un pays.
C'est l'hiver. Il est trs prs de son public quil aime rencontrer ou
lire sur son courriel: vigneault@gsimusique.com
(biographie adapte de: www.cyberpresse.ca).
[3] Vigneault focuses on the vastness of his wintry pays , which we will later learn is not a country at all.
[4] Vigneault makes reference to the Catholic faith of Qubec, invoking the marriage of snow and wind in the typical blizzards of winter. In addition, he introduces the warmth of his people, who, he claims, will continually grow in the seasons ahead (note also the nod to the difficulty of construction during the winter).
[5] Perhaps Vigneault is juxtaposing the external view of Qubec as isolated, cold, and, sparatiste, with the internal welcoming warmth of the earlier strophe.
[6] Here, it becomes clear that Vigneault sees Qubec as fundamentally separate from the rest of Canada; a country that is neither country nor nation (fatherland). He warns against a dismissal of his verse as artistic musing, but rather situates himself in the long history of Qubecois separatism, stating that it is for his country that he wishes to liberate his winters.
1- Lhistoire de
la motoneige invent par J. Armand Bombardier.
2- Web
Interview avec Gilles Vigneault
3- Le Carnaval
de Qubec vido clip (4 mars 1956)
4- Une autre chanson crite par Gilles
Vigneault : Gens du Pays
5- NOTRE
VRAI PAYS, cest le QUBEC
annonce publicitaire du Parti Qubcois de la Capitale nationale.
6- Caricature de
Gilles Vigneault il me reste un pays btir (au lendemain de la
dfaite des accords du lac Meech).
7- Un autre texte dun
pote qubcois, Gaston Miron.