Je vous dis que ces années-ci (AU1998-1075-010)

Dublin Core

Title

Je vous dis que ces années-ci (AU1998-1075-010)

Description

Excerpt from interview of Alberta Gagné (TC1998-1075-010) 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.

This song is a mystery. It is a social commentary song which good-naturedly takes to task folks who spend beyond their means and run short of cash for food before the month’s end and young men who drink too much, while praising fiddle players who play good old-fashioned tunes. It’s thematic material, colloquial language, and rambling narrative are reminiscent of the songs penned by Québécois singer-songwriter, fiddler, and harmonica player Madame Édouard Bolduc (1894-1941, née Mary Rose Anne Travers), but it is, to the best of the cataloguer’s knowledge, not one of her songs.

Alberta Gagné told Martha that she and her sister learned this song in Newport, New Hampshire, from Québécois lumberjacks who were working in a lumbercamp outside of town. The lumberjacks would rent rooms in Newport during the weekends, and Alberta Gagné’s husband met them and brought them over for house parties. She made two recordings of this song for Martha Pellerin; the other is AU1998-1078-011.

Abstract

I tell you, these days, it’s no joke how folks conduct their lives. On sees fancy clothes. When there’s an outing, you see in all the carts, folks offering to treat their friends. But at the end of the fortnight: “Mr. Grocer, I don’t have a penny.” They’ll have to eat pancakes. You see the fiddle players who have their rosin handy to apply to their bows. They play nice tunes from the good old days, composed by Mr. Blanchette. You see these young boys who carry around a little flask to wet their whistles: when they get home, they’ve lost their reason and want to turn the house upside down. So I’ll stop now; I don’t want to bore you too much with this poorly made song.

Source

VFC1998-0007 Martha Pellerin Collection. TC1998-1075 interview with Alberta Gagné. Vermont Folklife Center Archive, Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury, Vermont, United States of America.

Date

1995-12-06

Rights

Copyright (c) Vermont Folklife Center

Relation

Full Interview: vfc1998-0005_tc1998-1075

Language

fra

Identifier

vfc1998-0007_tc1998-1075-001a-010

Song Item Type Metadata

Supplied Title

Je vous dis que ces années-ci

Standard Title

[unknown]

First Line

Je vous dis que ces années-ci

Transcription

AG: « Je vous dis que ces années-ci »

 

[BEGIN SINGING]

 

Je vous dis que ces années-ci,

C'est pas drôle comment c’qu'on passe la vie.

On voit tous de bell’s toilettes.

            [Refrain]:

Mais la lurette,

Gai de gai de gai lon la, la lurette,

Gai de gai de gai lon la.

 

Quand on en a des excursions,

On voit partout sur les wagons,

Des gens qui paient toujours la traite.

            Refrain

 

Quand arrive la fin d'la quinzaine :

« Monsieur l'marchand, j'ai pus pa’ une cenne. »

Va falloir manger d'la galette.

            Refrain

 

Voyez ces joueurs de violon,

Qui se trainent de l’arcanson.

C'est pour frotter leur’ archet-es.

            Refrain

 

Ils jouent des bell’s airs tout le ______

Mélodies de bon vieux temps,

Composées par monsieur Blanchette.

            Refrain

 

Voyez donc ces jeunes garçons,

Qui se trainent un p'tit flacon.

C'est pour se mouiller la luette.

            Refrain

 

Quand i arrivent à la maison,

Ils ont perdu la raison.

Ils veulent faire une maison nette.

            Refrain

 

La va maint’nant terminer

Je veux pas trop vous ennuyer,

Avec cett’ chanson si mal faîte.

            Refrain


[END SINGING]

 

Translation

strophic/laisse; (“ette” end-rhyme), one refrain.

Interviewer

Pellerin, Martha

Original Format

sound cassette (analog)

Files

vfc1998-0007_tc1998-1075-001a_010.mp3

Citation

“Je vous dis que ces années-ci (AU1998-1075-010),” Vermont Folklife Center Digital Collections, accessed October 17, 2024, https://vtfolklifearchive.org/collections/items/show/357.

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