Guy Nantel is absolutely right. Yesterday he wondered on his social media why certain sports organizations wait for the death of a big name to play songs in French during games.
Why wait for Karl Tremblay to die to play Dashing Cowboys? Shouldn’t we play Autumn Song in spring, summer and winter?
French in Quebec can’t just be a shooting star.
THE ASSEMBLY
Dear readers, I know that these questions are important to you! You often write to me saying that you regret that we no longer play Quebec songs in our television series, in our films and in our sports competitions. They regularly write to me to complain that there are no more songs from Quebec (or from the rest of the French-speaking world) in shopping malls, restaurants, etc.
In short: when we get together, you want songs that sound like us!
Here’s what Guy Nantel wrote on Facebook: “Laval Rocket took advantage of a break last night to pay tribute to Karl Tremblay. It was really touching to see the camera moving through the crowd and all those audience members singing the lyrics to Shooting Stars by heart.
That being said, I attended a game in Laval on November 1st and remember that in the third period I made the following comment to the friend who accompanied me: “How come we didn’t play any Quebec songs during the entire game have? Not a single one! Throughout the evening we were bombarded with American music at the top of our lungs at every break.
We often complain that Quebec culture is an endangered species. But misery, it’s up to us to bring it to life!
Author and professor David Santorassa summed it up when he described the Cowboys’ recent show in Montreal on Twitter: “The show at the Bell Center is packed. Everyone sings all the songs by heart, or almost. And everyone sings in French. French songs become obvious, become normal, they are not a quota on music radio.
We don’t feel like we need to “promote local singers.” We don’t feel questioned, we don’t feel like a minority. We just sing along because we like the melody and the lyrics speak to us.”
This is what the Cowboys have succeeded in doing (and will continue to do so despite Karl’s departure): getting us to sing in French without it being a folkloric obligation on Midsummer Day, without this language being perceived as dusty by the youngest people.
OUR LANGUAGE
One of the most moving tributes to Karl Tremblay came from Adib Alkhalidey.
“I discovered the Cowboys on the radio at the age of 17 and it was his voice that was my gateway to Quebec culture, a voice that crosses cultural boundaries and connects us directly to our humanity, to what unites us.”
That’s the Cowboys’ hallmark: an open door to the beating heart of a people who continue to sing in French in America.
