Envoyons d'l'avant nos gens [first line] (AU1998-1074-011)
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“Envoyons d’lavant nos gens” (“Let’s push on ahead, folks”) is a traditional song which was most likely created in Canada (either in Quebec or French-speaking Ontario) and which has been documented in both provinces. A single version has been documented in Maine. It is one of a number of songs about loggers returning home after working in the logging shanties.
In 1924, Montreal singer Charles Marchand recorded a version of this song under the title “Envoyons d’l’avant!” for the Starr/Compo label (issue # 15142; matrix #1324, side A). Marchand (1890-1930) founded a vocal quartet called “Le Carillon canadien” in order to promote French-Canadian folk songs and new songs inspired by traditional customs and settings. He recorded another setting on the Columbia label in 1926.
Conrad Gauthier also recorded a setting under the title “Envoyons de l’avant nos gens” on the Victor label just a month after Marchand. Gauthier (1885-1964) was at various times a director of silent movies, a journalist, an accountant, and a municipal officer, but it was as a singer and actor that he made his name in Canada and the United States. In the 1920s, he was a pioneer in radio and in the recording of Quebec folk music, making 78s of more than 100 song.
You can hear You can hear Marchand’s 1924 rendition on the Library and Archives Canada website, The Virtual Gramophone: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/virtual-gramophone/Pages/Item.aspx?idNumber=1019481398
It seems likely that Alberta Gagné learned her version either from the Marchand recording or from someone who learned it from that source; like Marchand, she goes into falsetto voice when singing the lines in the song which are spoken by the loggers’ sweethearts. This novelty singing gimmick is generally absent in oral tradition but appears occasionally on commercial recordings by professional singers such as Marchand, who enjoyed adding a bit of theatrical flair.
NOTE: At present, this item also includes the beginning of the recording of “Mais quand on part du Canada [first line] (AU1998-1074-012).”
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(BEGIN SINGING)
[Refrain]:
Envoyons d'l'avant nos gens,
Envoyons d'l'avant.
Mais quand on part des chantiers,
Mes chers amis, tous le cœur gai,
Pour aller voir tous nos parents,
Mes chers amis le cœur content,
Refrain
Pour aller voir tous nos parents,
Mes chers amis le cœur content,
Mais qu’nos amis n'voient arriver,
Vont s'mettre à rire et à chanter,
Refrain
Mais qu’nos amis n'voient arriver,
Vont s'mettre à rire et à chanter,
Dimanche au soir à la veillée,
Nous irons voir nos compagnies,
Refrain [repeat]
Dimanche au soir à la veillée,
Nous irons voir nos compagnies,
Ils vont nous dire mais en entrant :
« Mais mon amant, j'ai le cœur content, »
Refrain
Ils vont nous dire mais en entrant :
« Mais mon amant, j'ai le cœur content, »
Et au milieu de la veillée,
I’ vont nous parler d'leurs cavaliers,
Refrain [repeat]
Et au milieu de la veillée,
I’ vont nous parler d'leurs cavaliers,
Ils vont nous dire mais en partant :
« As-tu fréquenté des amants ? »
Refrain [repeat]
(END SINGING)
Translation
Let’s push on ahead, folks!
Let’s push on ahead!
strophic, four-line verses, six verses, one refrain
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Position: 467 (398 views)