Le livre d’or de nos souvenirs [first line] (AU1998-1073-015)

Dublin Core

Title

Le livre d’or de nos souvenirs [first line] (AU1998-1073-015)

Description

Excerpt from interview of Alberta Gagné (TC1998-1073-015) by Martha Pellerin. Part of a project (VFC1998-0007) on Franco-American song in New England funded by the Vermont Folklife Center and undertaken by Pellerin. Interview is one in a series of six conducted between 1995-01-09 and 1995-12-06 as an effort to document the French language song repertoire of Gagné.

“Le livre d’or de nos souvenirs” (”The golden book of our memories“) is a song whose authorship has yet to be identified, but which clearly enjoyed some popularity in Quebec in the first half of the 20th century. Almost identical lyrics are quoted in a privately published collection of songs from the repertory of Georges-Alphonse Olivier (1907-1993), who hailed from Ste-Élisabeth, Quebec (Les anciennes chansons que mon père chantait dans son jeune âge. Édité par Réjean Olivier 3e édition, Joliette : Édition privée, 2015) under the title “Le livre d’or de mes souvenirs.” Celebrated Quebec singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault quotes the opening lines of the refrain of this song in an original 1968 song entitled “Le Nord du Nord,” using it as an evocation of a collective memory of well-known tunes of yore.

Abstract

When one leaves with a heart in distress, to dream alone during the weary night, the memory comes like a caress, the golden pathways brush by. But the little bit of calm which comes over us will diminish these moments of regret. But a star which shines more brightly on the horizon of far-off tomorrows.

Source

VFC1998-0007 Martha Pellerin Collection. TC1998-1073 interview with Alberta Gagné. Vermont Folklife Center Archive, Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury, Vermont, United States of America.

Date

1995-10-04

Rights

Copyright (c) Vermont Folklife Center

Relation

Full Interview: vfc1998-0005_tc1998-1073

Language

fra

Identifier

vfc1998-0007_tc1998-1073-001b-006

Song Item Type Metadata

Supplied Title

Le livre d’or de nos souvenirs

Standard Title

[unknown]

First Line

Lorsqu'on s'en va le coeur en détresse

Transcription

AG: I know another one. A souvenir song.

(BEGIN SINGING)

Lorsqu'on s'en va le cœur en détresse,

Rêver tout seul par le soir languissant,

Le souvenir vient comme une caresse,

Les sentiers d'or vont frôler en passant.

            [Refrain] :

Dans le livre d'or de nos souvenirs,

Tous sont inscrits, nos peines et nos plaisirs.

Il est une page rose,

Qui rappelle tant de choses.

C'est la page de nos tendres amours,

Où on se revoit soi-même.

Au pieds de celui qu'on aime,

Et qui l'on a dû quitter un jour.

 

Mais le peu de calme qui nous arrive,

Vont emprunter des instants de chagrin.

Mais une étoile qui brille plus vive,

A l'horizon des lointains lendemains.

           

Dans le livre d'or de nos souvenirs,

Tous sont inscrits, nos peines et nos plaisirs.

Il est une page rose,

Qui rappelle tant de choses.

C'est la page de nos tendres amours,

Où on se revoit soi-même.

Au pieds de celui qu'on aime,

Et qui l'on a dû quitter un jour.

Mais qui nous attend quand-même,

Sans désespérer jusqu'au retour.

 

(END SINGING)

 

Translation

Refrain: [last two lines are added only after the second verse]
In the golden book of our memories,
All is written, our joys and sorrows.
Upon a rose-colored page,
Which evokes so many memories,
It is the page of our tender loves.
Where you again see yourself
At the feet of he who you loved,
But who one day you had to leave.
But who waits for us, nevertheless,
Never despairing for our return.

strophic, four-line verses; two verses; one refrain sung after first and second verses, with the last two lines appearing only once, at the end of the refrain which follows the second verse.

Interviewer

Pellerin, Martha

Original Format

sound cassette (analog)

Files

vfc1998-0007_tc1998-1073-001b_006.mp3

Citation

“Le livre d’or de nos souvenirs [first line] (AU1998-1073-015),” Vermont Folklife Center Digital Collections, accessed October 17, 2024, https://vtfolklifearchive.org/collections/items/show/330.

Position: 850 (308 views)