"Gens du pays" has been called the unofficial "national" anthem of
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. Written by poet, songwriter, and avowed
Quebec nationalist
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
Gilles Vigneault
Gilles Vigneault (; born 27 October 1928) is a Canadian poet, publisher, singer-songwriter, and Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist. Two of his songs are considered by many to be Quebec's unofficial anthems: "Mon pays" and "Gens du pays", an ...
(with music co-written by
Gaston Rochon), it was first performed by Vigneault on June 24, 1975 during a concert on
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
's
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...
at that year's
Fête nationale du Québec
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (french: Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, la Saint-Jean, Fête nationale du Québec), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec and by Fren ...
ceremony. It quickly became a folk classic, and it has been played frequently at Fête nationale ceremonies since then. The chorus is by far the most famous part of the song: ''Gens du pays, c'est votre tour / De vous laisser parler d'amour'', which, translated, says, "Folks of the land, it is your turn to let you speak of love."
The song is also associated with the
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision of ...
and the sovereigntist
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
, which use it as a sort of anthem. A famous instance of this took place at
René Lévesque
René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...
's concession speech after the citizens of the province rejected independence in the
1980 Quebec referendum
The 1980 Quebec independence referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois (PQ) government, whi ...
. At the end of Lévesque's speech, the crowd assembled to hear him speak stood up at the end of the speech and sang "Gens du pays", which Lévesque called "the most beautiful Québécois song in the minds of all Quebecers."
Birthday adaptation
In Quebec, a modified version of the chorus is often sung to celebrate a person, for example on a birthday (in the specific case of the birthday, the idea was explicitly introduced by Gilles Vigneault,
Yvon Deschamps
Yvon Deschamps (born July 31, 1935, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Quebec author, actor, comedian and producer best known for his monologues. His social-commentary-tinged humour propelled him to prominence in Quebec popular culture in the 1970s and 1 ...
and
Louise Forestier
Louise Forestier (born Louise Belhumeur on August 10, 1942) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and actress.
Biography
Born in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada, Forestier was trained in acting at the National Theatre School in Montreal, but it was as a s ...
at the song's 1975 introduction):
:''Mon cher ami'' (or ''Ma chère amie'')'', c'est à ton tour''
:''De te laisser parler d'amour.''
("My dear friend, it's your turn / To let yourself be lovingly spoken to.")
Alternatively, "ami(e)" (friend) is replaced with the name of the person being celebrated.
For instance, at
René Lévesque
René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...
's funeral, mourners outside the church broke out singing "Mon cher René, c'est à ton tour, de te laisser parler d'amour."
The birthday adaptation uses the familiar, informal and singular "tu" form
French personal pronouns
French personal pronouns (analogous to English ''I'', ''you, he/she, we'', and ''they'') reflect the person and number of their referent, and in the case of the third person, its gender as well (much like the English distinction between ''him'' an ...
, in contrast with the original which uses "vous" pronouns which are either singular but formal, or plural (as with other Latin languages such as Spanish).
See also
*
List of birthday songs
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
1975 songs
Quebecois patriotic songs
Songs about birthdays
Gilles Vigneault songs
Songs written by Gilles Vigneault
Parti Québécois
Political party songs
Canadian anthems
Regional songs
{{1970s-song-stub