"Mon pays" ("My Country", or "My Homeland", in English) is a song composed by

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 ...

singer-songwriter

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", ...

in 1964.Suzanne Thomas, Stephen C. Willis and Hélène Plouffe
"Mon Pays"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

'', November 20, 2011. The song was written for the NFB film ''

The Snow Has Melted on the Manicouagan ''The Snow Has Melted on the Manicouagan'' (french: La neige a fondu sur la Manicouagan) is a Canadian dramatic docufiction film, directed by Arthur Lamothe and released in 1965.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. ...

(La Neige a fondu sur la Manicouagan)'', directed by

Arthur Lamothe Arthur Lamothe, (December 7, 1928 – September 18, 2013) was a French-Canadian film director and film producer. Biography Born in Saint-Mont, France, Lamothe immigrated to Canada in 1953 and immediately got a job as a lumberjack in the Abitibi ...

. The song consists of six stanzas of lyrics about winds, cold, snow, and ice, of the solitude of wide open spaces and of the ideal of brotherhood. Its theme, "'Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver", is well-known throughout the province. As well as expressing the natural beauty and praising the special characteristics of the composer's Quebec homeland, the song is seen by many people as declaring the free spirit of the province; Vigneault has denied that this was ever his intention; however, he has been firm that "mon pays" refers to Quebec and should not be associated with Canada as a whole. Vigneault won the Prix Félix-Leclerc at the 1965 Festival du disque de Montréal for the song. Later that same year,

Monique Leyrac Monique Leyrac, (26 February 1928 – 15 December 2019) was a Canadian singer and actress who popularized many songs by French-Canadian composers. Early life Leyrac was born Monique Tremblay in Montreal, Quebec.Alexis Luko, Rachelle Taylor an ...

performed it at the International Song Festival in

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest ci ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, taking first prize with it. In 1977, the melody from "Mon Pays" was reworked into the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

song "From New York to L.A." recorded by Patsy Gallant. This song with English lyrics by Gene Williams unrelated to the original French, was an international hit for Gallant - Canada/ #6 Pop, #1 Adult Contemporary,/ the UK/ #6, Ireland/ #5, Australia/ #10, the Netherlands/ #15, Norway/ #7, South Africa/ #5, Sweden/ #17, - and in 1995 reached #5 in Austria via a remake credited to N.Y.L.A. featuring Stephanie McKay.

References

External links

''Mon Pays'' in the Canadian Encyclopedia
{{authority control Songs about Canada 1964 songs Quebecois patriotic songs Gilles Vigneault songs Songs written by Gilles Vigneault Songs written for films