"Un Canadien errant" is a song written in 1842 by Antoine Gérin-Lajoie after the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–38. Some of the rebels were condemned to death, others forced into exile to the United States and as far as Australia. Gérin-Lajoie wrote the song, about the pain of exile, while taking his classical exams at the Séminaire de Nicolet. The song has become a patriotic anthem for certain groups of Canadians who have at a point in their history experienced the pain of exile. In addition to those exiled following the Lower Canada Rebellion, it has come to hold particular importance for the rebels of the Upper Canada Rebellion, and for the Acadians, who suffered mass deportation from their homeland in the Great Upheaval between 1755 and 1763. The Acadian version is known as "Un Acadien errant."
Origins
Accounts of the origins of this song vary. In Souvenirs de collège, Antoine Gérin-Lajoie writes that he based his verse on an existing folk tune: In that publication the song was titled "Le Proscrit" and the tune said to be "Au bord d'un clair ruisseau." The melody is from the French Canadian folk tune "J'ai fait une maîtresse". The musical form is "AABB" or double-binary, with the A phrase repeated before moving to the B phrase, which is also repeated. The musical form is reflected in the lyrics as follows: 'A' phrase, with repeat: Un Canadien errant, Banni de ses foyers, Un Canadien errant, Banni de ses foyers,
'B' phrase, with repeat: Parcourait en pleurant Des pays étrangers. Parcourait en pleurant Des pays étrangers.
The rise in the tune on the first line of the B phrase is inverted on the repeat, to make the phrase period, and thus provide closure to the AABB form. Paul Robeson performed a bilingual version under the title "Le Canadien Errant" and recorded it in the 1950s. This version was included in his 1969 East Germancompilation albumAmerikanische Ballade; the album was released posthumously in the United States in 1977 as American Balladeer. American audiences were introduced to the song in 1963 with French-language performances by Ian & Sylvia. They included "Un Canadien errant" on their debut 1962 album Ian & Sylvia. They gave it further prominence at the Newport Folk Festival as recorded on the 1996 album Ian & Sylvia Live at Newport. In the 1969 film, My Side of the Mountain, the folk singer and musicologist Theodore Bikel sang the first part of "Un Canadien Errant" and then played a bit of it on a "homemade" reed flute. The melody refrained throughout the film. Leonard Cohen recorded "Un Canadien errant" as "The Lost Canadian" on his 1979 Recent Songs album. His own song "The Faith", on his 2004 albumDear Heather, is based on the same melody. American folk duo John & Mary included an arrangement by Mary Ramsey on their 1991 albumVictory Gardens. Canadian folk rock duo Whitehorse recorded "Un Canadien errant" and included it on their 2013 covers albumThe Road to Massey Hall. A version performed by the duo is featured on the soundtrack to One Week, a 2008 film starring Joshua Jackson. The song also made an appearance as the location music for Canada in the Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego video game.
History
Ernest Gagnon in Chansons populaires du Canada says "the original tune was "J'ai fait une maîtresse," of which the words of the variant "Si tu te mets anguille" are fragments.' Gagnon's analysis is considered definitive. An Acadian variation appeared in 1844 as "Un Acadien Errant", sung to the Gregorian tune "Ave Maris Stella". Otherwise, to a few, the original song remains a patriotic song; to all, it is a poignant recollection of French Canadian history.
Original lyrics
Original French lyrics: Un Canadien errant, Banni de ses foyers, Parcourait en pleurant Des pays étrangers. Un jour, triste et pensif, Assis au bord des flots, Au courant fugitif Il adressa ces mots: "Si tu vois mon pays, Mon pays malheureux, Va, dis à mes amis Que je me souviens d'eux. "Ô jours si pleins d'appas Vous êtes disparus, Et ma patrie, hélas! Je ne la verrai plus! "Non, mais en expirant, Ô mon cher Canada! Mon regard languissant Vers toi se portera..."
English translation A wandering ‘Canadien’ Banished from his homeland Travelled, weeping, through foreign lands. One day, sad and thoughtful, Seated on the river’s bank To the fleeing current He spoke these words: “If you should see my home My sad unhappy land Go, say to all my friends That I remember them "O days once so full of charm You are all gone away And my homeland, alas! I'll not see her again "No, but with my last breath O my dear Canada! My sad gaze Will go to you."
English version
This is the 1927 English version by John Murray Gibbon. Only the first verse preserves the ABAB rhyme pattern of the original French; thereafter it varies. It is singable but sacrifices much accuracy and arguably emotional depth in the translation. Note that the use of the word 'lad' here means a young adult man, as was common in the time period. Once a Canadian lad, Exiled from hearth and home, Wandered, alone and sad, Through alien lands unknown. Down by a rushing stream, Thoughtful and sad one day, He watched the water pass And to it he did say: "If you should reach my land, My most unhappy land, Please speak to all my friends So they will understand.
Tell them how much I wish That I could be once more In my beloved land That I will see no more. "My own beloved land I'll not forget till death, And I will speak of her With my last dying breath. My own beloved land I'll not forget till death, And I will speak of her With my last dying breath."
