Martin de la Chasse Galerie - French Canadian Song

Music by la Bottine Souriante, vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji. This isn’t a folk song but rather an original song written by local folk band la Bottine Souriante, who are probably the main performers of our traditional music here in Québec. I wanted to add my spin to their excellent song by providing a more folk sounding version, as theirs does have some strong modern and jazz vibes alongside the folk sound. The story deals with the folk legend of the Chasse-Galerie, a story where woodcutters working in the remote regions of the province on New Year’s Eve make a pact with the Devil to run the Chasse-Galerie: embarking on a flying canoe to be able to reach their family quickly for the celebrations. Different versions of the story exist: in most, the Devil accepts under the condition that the men must not swear or uttter the Lord’s name in vain, or else they will go to hell, though in some versions, the Devil acts kindly and forgives them. The version of the story sung here sets the term as the men not having the right to touch any of the girls, but when Martin, the youngest of the group kisses one of the girls, the men are punished by crashing to the ground once back on the canoe. At the last minute, however, God saves the men but condemns them to forever roam the skies of Montréal in the flying canoe. The instrumentation is typical of Québécois folk music: the accordion, the fiddle, the acoustic guitar and the cuillères. The accent I use here is my natural French accent as I speak with a typical Greater-Montreal area pronunciation. Lyrics in Canadian French: Vous connaissez l'histoire, nous bûchions au chantier Loin de nos êtres chers, dix gars ben esseulés Dans notre désespoir, le soir du jour de l'an Nous avons fait, ciboire, un pacte avec Satan Dans le ciel du pays, le canot fendit l'air Et nous menant ravis aux maisons de nos pères Toute la nuit en famille nous pûmes rire et boire Mais sans toucher aux filles, le diable veut rien savoir C'est moi le plus jeune des dix, dans ce canot maudit Volant par maléfice au-dessus de vos vies Épargnez vos prières, mes parents, mes amis Je suis un beau torvis, Martin d'la chasse-galerie Mais moi toujours plus saoul, fantasque et fanfaron Plus prime aux mauvais coups que mes vieux compagnons Au moment des adieux, j'entraînai Marion La plus belle des lieux, dans un baiser profond C'est là qu'l'histoire se fucke car le grand Lucifer Pour comble de bad luck, checkait du haut des airs Martin mon escogriffe, t'as voulu faire ton frais À c't'heure on est kif-kif, vous n'en reviendrez jamais En nous voyant penauds, chuter jusqu'aux enfers Dans notre maudit canot, le bon Dieu était pas fier Ma gang de sans-génie, le Malin vous a pincé Y me reste qu'à vous souhaiter une belle éternité Quand même je serai bon diable et au lieu d'en enfer J'vous enverrai dans l'ciel, ça fera suer Lucifer Mais c'est pas le paradis, ce ciel dont je vous parle C'est un p'tit peu plus gris, c'est le ciel de Montréal Voilà pourquoi bonnes gensses, depuis ce jour fatal Nous flottons en errance entre Longueuil et Laval Condamnés pour toujours à contempler de haut Vos peines et vos amours, vos chars et votre métro English translation: You already know the story1, we were lumbering at the site Far from our loved ones, ten lonely guys In our despair, on New Year's Eve We made, damn it2, a pact with Satan In the sky of the country, the canoe was splitting air And leading us delighted, to our fathers' homes All night, as a family, we were able to laugh and drink But without touching the girls, the devil forbad it I'm the youngest of the ten, in this cursed canoe9 Flying by devilry, far above of your lives Save your prayers, my parents and my friends I am in a damned mess, Martin of the Chasse-Galerie But me, always more drunk, fitful and swaggering More primed to blunders than my old companions At the time of farewell, I dragged Marion The most beautiful girl around, in a deep kiss This is where the story gets fucked, because the great Lucifer To make bad luck worse, was looking from up above Martin my escogriffe, you wanted to show off Now we are kif-kif, you all won't come back from it, Seeing us crestfallen, falling down to hell In our damned canoe, the good Lord wasn't proud My gang of idiots, evil has a grip on you All that remains to do is wish you a pretty eternity Although I'll be a good fellow, and instead of hell I will send you to the sky, that'll piss off lucifer But it's not paradise, this sky I'm talking about It's a little grayer, it's the sky of Montréal Here's why good people, since that fatal day We float in vagrancy, between Longueuil and Laval, Damned forever to look down and see Your sorrows and your loves, your cars, and your metro