Author Archives: jlau1002

03/19/25

Claude Léveillée (1932 – 2011)

Claude Léveillée was a Canadian actor, pianist, and singer & songwriter who composed over 400 songs, instrumental scores, and musicals. He was born in Montréal, Canada. His mother was a pianist and his father was a tenor. Born into a musical family, he learned to play the piano at five without ever taking any lessons. He also played the accordion and harmonica. He began performing in the streets while taking economics and political science courses at the University of Montreal. 

 

He made his stage debut in 1955. He appeared on stage at the Université de Montréal in the magazine Bleu et Or, to perform a number by Gilbert Bécaud and Liberace. He was noticed by Noël Gauvin, director of the TV show Music-hall. Gauvin later approached Léveillée to compose the song Montréal for the singer Andrée D’Amour. In 1956, he founded Les Bozos, a group of singers composed of Clémence Desrochers, Hervé Brousseau, Jacques Blanchet, Jean-Pierre Ferland and Raymond Lévesque. Among the first songs he composed were “Frédéric”, “L’Hiver”, “Les Vieux Pianos” and “Rendez-vous.” In 1964, he was the first Québec-born solo artist to perform at Place des Arts. This is one of Canada’s largest music complexes. It is a major North American integrated centre for both visual and performing arts. He brought his music around the globe,  in Canada, France, The USSR, Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, and central Asian countries. 

 

Apart from songs, he wrote music for theatres and films. He composed music for TV series such as Of Mice and Men, L’Échéance du vendredi, Le Pélican and Millionnaire à froid. He also wrote music for the film Les Beaux dimanches, and wrote musical comedies. He composed vocal concertos and music for the ballet Fleur de lit. Les Ballets-Jazz du Québec danced it during the Montréal Olympics. 

 

In the late 1970s,  he took a break from performing and switched focus to composing and acting. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he released several new albums and performed again. He was partially paralyzed in 2004, and his final album, Coeur sans pays, was recorded just days before his stroke and was released in 2008. He passed away in 2011 at the Laurentians. 

 

Léveillée’s work has a strong influence. They were recognized with numerous awards, including Officer of the Order of Canada and induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2006). As a result of his work, other artists can follow in his footsteps and achieve greater success. 

 

Source 

Denise Ménard, Betty Nygaard King, Suzanne Thomas, Benoît L’Herbier. “Claude Léveillée.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published June 8, 2011; Last Edited March 4, 2015.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/claude-leveillee 

 

Julie Dufresne, Laurent Duval, Susan Spier, Richard Haskell. “Music at Place des Arts.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published April 14, 2011; Last Edited April 27, 2023.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/place-des-arts-emc

03/14/25

The Minnesota Heritage Songbook

The Minnesota Heritage Songbook is a collection of traditional folk songs, documenting the history and culture of Minnesota. Most of the songs were brought by immigrants. Songs were passed down verbally through generations. The songbook collected songs about events relevant to Minnesota history, compiled and edited by Robert B. Waltz. The book was released in 2008 in celebration of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial. Although the exact launch date isn’t specified, the site has been updated over the years.

The website devoted to the collection provides a lot of sources and information. The Songbook allows readers to look for songs by alphabetical order, song topics, and according to the historic timeline. The songbook acts like a database, making it easy for visitors to find folk songs. The website has songs in different foreign languages, including French, Danish, German, Finnish, and Swedish. For instance, there is a French song “A la claire fontaine”. According to the website’s description, “it is a well-known song in Quebec, with a text widely printed; it is said to have been a voyageur favorite.” Lyrics, English translation, and a short instrumental melody recording are provided. There are recordings of most of the songs, which visitors can use to get a sense of how the songs might sound.  

For further exploration, the songbook provides links to other sites with useful materials about Minnesota folk songs. Further readings and listening could be done via those sources.

Source: The Minnesota Heritage Songbook

 

03/13/25

Parlez-nous à boire

Song title: Parlez nous à boire — The Balfa Brothers

A song in the film Southern Comfort (1981)

Strophe Rhyme Line Text
A a 1 Oh parlez-nous à boire, non pas du marriage
b 2 Toujours en regrettant, nos jolis temps passés 
B b 3 Si que tu te maries avec une jolie fille 
b 4 T’es dans les grands dangers, ça va te la voler 
A a 1 Oh parlez-nous à boire, non pas du marriage
b 2 Toujours en regrettant, nos jolis temps passés
B b 5 Si que tu te maries avec une vilaine fille 
b 6 T’es dans les grands dangers, faudra tu fais ta vie avec
A a 1 Oh parlez-nous à boire, non pas du marriage 
b 2 Toujours en regrettant, nos jolis temps passés 
Interlude
A a 1 Oh parlez-nous à boire, non pas du marriage 
b 2 Toujours en regrettant, nos jolis temps passés 
B c 7 Si que tu te maries avec une fille bien pauvre
d 8 T’es dans les grands dangers, faudra travailler tout la vie
A a 1 Oh parlez-nous à boire, non pas du marriage
b 2 Toujours en regrettant, nos jolis temps passés
B e 9 Si que tu te maries avec une fille qu’a de quoi
f 10 T’es dans les grands dangers, tu vas attraper des grands reproches
C g 11 Fameux, toi grand vaurien, qu’a tout gaspillé mon bien 
g 11 Fameux, toi grand vaurien, qu’a tout gaspillé mon bien
A a 1 Oh parlez-nous à boire, non pas du marriage
b 2 Toujours en regrettant, nos jolis temps passés

 

Style: Cajun French Music

Type: Enumerative

Narrative: A song telling people to drink and not get married. Because no matter what kind of girls you marry, you are in great danger.

Translation:

Oh parlez-nous à boire, non pas du marriage

Oh, let’s talk about drinking and not about marriage

Toujours en regrettant, nos jolis temps passés

Always regretting our pretty time past

Si que tu te maries, avec une jolie fille,

If you marry a pretty girl,

T’es dans les grands dangers, ça va te la voler.

You’re in great danger, someone’s going to steal her.

Refrain

Si que tu te maries avec une vilaine fille 

If you marry an ugly girl,

T’es dans les grands dangers, faudra tu fais ta vie avec 

You’re in great danger, you’ll have to live with her

Refrain

Si que tu te maries avec une fille bien pauvre 

If you marry a very poor girl,

T’es dans les grands dangers, faudra travailler tout la vie 

You’re in great danger, you’ll have to work all your life.

Refrain

Si que tu te maries avec une fille qu’a de quoi 

If you marry a rich girl,

T’es dans les grands dangers, tu vas attraper des grands reproches 

You’re in great danger, you’ll get great reproaches

Fameux, toi grand vaurien, qu’a tout gaspillé mon bien (bis)

Damned you, great good-for-nothing, you spilled all my possessions. (twice)

Source:

01/21/25

À la claire fontaine

À la claire fontaine 
M'en allant promener, 
J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle, 
Que je m'y suis baigné. 

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime 
Jamais je ne t'oublierai. 

J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle,  
Que je m'y suis baigné.
Sous les feuilles de chêne 
Je me suis fait sécher, 
Sur la plus haute branche 
Le rossignol chantait .

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime 
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.

Sur la plus haute branche,
Le rossignol chantait
Chante, rossignol, chante 
Toi qui as le coeur gai, 
Tu as le coeur à rire 
Moi je l'ai à pleurer.

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime 
Jamais je ne t'oublierai. 

Tu as le coeur à rire
Moi je l'ai à pleurer
C'est pour mon ami Pierre 
Qui ne veut plus m'aimer, 
Pour un bouton de rose 
Que je lui refusai.

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime 
Jamais je ne t'oublierai. 

Pour un bouton de rose  
Que je lui refusai
J'ai perdu mon ami 
Sans l'avoir mérité,
Pour un bouquet de roses 
Que je lui refusai. 

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime 
Jamais je ne t'oublierai. 

Pour un bouquet de roses  
Que je lui refusai
Je voudrais que la rose 
Fût encore au rosier, 
Et que mon doux ami 
Fût encore à m'aimer. 

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime 
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.

 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzrtfA7HHbc

Lyrics source: https://www.iletaitunehistoire.com/genres/comptines-et-chansons/lire/biblidcha_016#histoire

(There are various versions)

Rhyme: monorhyme

Topic/context: unrequited love

The earliest version is 1604. This song was popular in Belgium and in Canada. Numerous versions of both music and lyrics can be found, and versions known in France and Belgium vary from those known in Canada.

The song speaks of a lover bathing in a fountain, hearing a nightingale singing, and thinking about her lover whom she lost long ago after refusing a bouquet of roses he was offering her, most likely symbolizing him proposing to her. The nightingale’s heart laughs but hers weeps.