La crise règne comme un fléau (AU1998-1073-001)
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“La crise règne comme un fléau ” (“The Depression holds sway like a plague”) is actually the second line of the first verse of a Depression-era song which Alberta Gagné learned from her sister-in-law. The song paints a sympathetic portrait of the plight of an unemployed father whose youngest child dies of hunger because he is unable to find work. The melody is actually from a much older song, “Le petit mousse noire,” first published in Paris in 1840, with words by Pierre-Jacques Cheret (1793-1864) and music by Marc Constantin (1810-1888).
No other printed or recorded versions of this song are available, although Québécois folk singer Robert Payant of Vaudreuil, QC has in his personal archives an uncatalogued field recording he made of a version in 1983 from Anne-Marie Lafrance, then a resident at the Centre d’Accueil in Vaudreil, Quebec. Payant believes that this song may have been locally composed during the Depression [SOURCE: Facebook correspondence January 2021].
Abstract
…deplorable, the Depression holds sway like a plague; the father is sad at the tableside; the mother weeps by the cradle; Looking at things, the jobless man; Have pity on him; jobless man.
Poor jobless man goes to the city, dragging himself along like a good dog; He wants to find a way to put daily bread on his family’s table; With tears in his eyes, he implores with a ton of misery. Arriving home, a terrible scene awaits; the grieving mother in tears is holding the corpse of her little one; the child perished for want of bread; cruel fate, terrible destiny; Have pity, have pity on the poor jobless man, whose family is dying of hunger; Jobless man, come; take courage; humanity hears your voice; soon there will be work once more and joy will return to your home; for you better days are coming, and thanks to you, in heaven’s name, courage, courage, jobless man; Providence will not forget you.
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(BEGIN SINGING)
(Beginning unintelligible)
[NOTE : the recording comes on at the end of the first line]:
…deplorable,
La crise règne comme un fléau,
Le père est triste près de la table,
La mère pleure près du berceau.
Visant les choses, le chômeur.
Pitié pour lui, pauvre chômeur,
[Refrain] :
Pitié, pitié pauvre chômeur,
Car le malheur sur lui s'abat. [repeat last two lines]
Pauvre chômeur part pour la ville,
Trainant ses pas comme un bon chien.
Il veut trouver pour sa famille,
De quoi gagner pain quotidien.
Avec les larmes dans les yeux,
Il implore d'un ton misereux,
Refrain
En arrivant à sa demeure,
Une scène affreuse se passe chez lui.
La mère navrée et toute en pleurs,
Tient le cadavre de son petit.
L'enfant est mort faute de pain,
Cruel sort, terrible destin,
Pitié, pitié pauvre chômeur,
Dont la famille se meurt de faim,
Pitié, pitié, pauvre chômeur,
Dont la famille se meurt de faim.
Chômeur venez, prends ton courage,
L'humanité entend ta voix.
Bientôt tu auras de l'ouvrage,
Et la joie règnera chez toi.
Pour toi s'annoncent des jours heureux,
Et grace à toi, au nom des cieux,
Courage, courage pauvre chômeur,
La Providence ne t'oublie pas.
Courage, courage pauvre chômeur
La Providence ne t'oublie pas.
(END SINGING)
Translation
Have pity, have pity for the poor jobless man;
On whom misfortune is falling.
strophic, six-line stanzas, four stanzas, first refrain is used for first two verse, with modified words in the last two stanzas.
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Position: 791 (541 views)