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Un Canadien errant - theme from the ‘Patriotes Soundtrack’ 1/2
It was during the first hard years of the Patriotes’ exile, in 1842, when a student wrote new topical lyrics for an old folk song. It became an instantly popular because it eloquently expressed the longing of an exile for his native land.
It is the rare matching of words and ideas with a simple, honest melody.
If sung as a “chanson à répondre” you can imagine a canoe full of men in the northwest. The leader sings the couplet, then the rest of the voyageurs repeat it - using the rhythm to synchronize and pace their strokes … and the sentiment to divert their minds from the hard labour and the long day.
One could hear Un Canadien errant sung both in the bush and the cities of Upper Canada - from the Rockies to Lake Winnipeg and at the most distant outposts in Canada’s northwest.
from: Chansons Populaires du Canada; Ernest Gagnon; 1880; Librairie Beauchemin.
