Dégéneration

[tealin]

Another year, another Québecois song leaps out from the bush and flattens me. This one is ... basically my family history but written by complete strangers??

Ton arrière-arrière-grand-père, il a défriché la terre
Ton arrière-grand-pere, il a labouré la terre
Et pis ton grand-pere a rentabilisé la terre
Pis ton pere, il l'a vendu pour devenir fonctionnaire

Et pis toi mon p'tit gars, tu sais pu c'que tu vas faire
Dans ton p'tit trois et d'mi ben trop cher, frete en hiver
Il te vient des envies de dev'nir propriétaire
Et tu reves la nuit d'avoir ton petit lopin de terre

Ton arrière-arrière-grand-mere, elle a eu quatorze enfants
ton arrière-grand-mère en a eu quasiment autant
Et pis ta grand-mere en a eu trois c'tait suffisant
pis ta mere en voulait pas, toi t'tais un accident

Et pis toé ma p'tite fille, tu changes de partenaires tout l'temps
Quand tu fais des conn'ries, tu t'en sauves en avortant
Mais y'a des matins, tu te reveilles en pleurant
Quand tu reves la nuit d'une grande table entourée d'enfants

Ton arrière-arrière-grand-pere, y'a vecu la grosse misère
Ton arrèire-grand-pere, il ramassait les cennes noires
Et pis ton grand-père, miracle, y'est devenu millionnaire
Ton père en a hérité, il l'a tout mit dans ses REERs

Et pis toé p'tite jeunesse tu dois ton cul au ministère
Pas moyen d'avoir un prêt dans une institution bancaire
Pour calmer tes envies de hold-uper la caissière
Tu lis des livres qui parlent de simplicité volontaire

Tes arrières-arrières-grands-parents ils savaient comment fêter
Tes arrières-grands-parents ça swingnaient fort dans les veilles
Pis tes grands-parents ont connu l'poque yé-yé
Tes parents c'tait les discos c'est là qu'ils se sont rencontrés

Et pis toé mon ami qu'est-ce que tu fais de ta soirée
éteins donc ta T.V. faut pas rester encabané
Heureusement que dans vie certaines choses refusent de changer
Enfiles tes plus beaux habits car nous allons ce soir danser



My best cobbled translation, mainly the one in the video with help from the comments, but some slight shifts of emphasis entirely from my own hubris.


Your great-great-grandfather, he cleared the land;
Your great-grandfather, he worked the land;
And your grandfather paid off the land.
But your father, he sold it to become an office worker.

And then you, my little guy, you don't know what to do
In your small one-bedroom, much too expensive and cold in winter ...
There come to you visions* of becoming a landowner,
And you dream in the night of having your little plot of land.

Your great-great-grandmother, she had fourteen children;
Your great-grand-mother had about the same;
And then your grandmother, she had three, that was enough;
And you mother didn't want you, you were an accident.

And now you, my lass, you change partners all the time.
When you get in trouble, you save yourself with an abortion.
But there are mornings you wake in tears
When you dream in the night of a big table surrounded by children.

Your great-great grandfather, he lived through the Great Depression.
Your great-grandfather, he collected black pennies. [was a miser?]
And then your grandfather, miracle! became a millionaire –
Your father inherited it, he put it all in an RRSP.**

And now you, little youth, you owe your butt to the government,
Not able to get a loan from a banking institution.
To allay your visions* of holding up a cashier,
You read some books about voluntary simplicity.

Your great-great-grandparents, they knew how to party.
Your great-grandparents swung hard through the night.
And your grandparents knew the age of rock-n-roll.
Your parents, there were discos, and that's where they met.

And then you, my friend, what are you doing with your evening?
Turn off your TV then, don't stay at home.
Happily, in life, certain things refuse to change
Put on your best clothes, because tonight we're going dancing.

*this isn't a direct literal translation, but closer in sense if you think of "envies" as yearning desires and fantasies
**Registered Retirement Savings Plan, a sort of Canadian IRA.

So I guess I'm not the only one, then.

(Definitely more on the lopin de terre side than entourée d'enfants, though – happy to leave that much behind.)