Few bands have shaped Quebec as much as Les Cowboys Fringants. On the eve of a summer concert series that will see Quebec’s favorite quartet reconnect with the Plains of Abraham during the Festival d’été de Québec, The newspaper thought to offer you this selection of the 25 most beautiful songs of the cowboys. Do you agree with our number 1?
5. At half mast
(union break2002)
There is hardly a more impressive beginning of an album than this powerful track dedicated to the pride of being Quebecer and having a country. “Chu born in the seventies / In a Quebec in full changes”, Karl Tremblay sang with panache, accompanied by Dom Lebeau’s energetic drums and Marie-Annick Lépine’s distinctive mandolin. I remember the slap in the face I received when I first listened to this opening album. Until then, the cowboys were mainly perceived as a silly and festive group. But with En Berne, the team entered the premier league and showed us that they should be taken seriously. (RGM)
4. More Nothing
(High fair – 2004)
As the planet heats up, this song challenges us in moving ways. This is the story of the end of the world, told by the “last man alive” for whom snow, water and clean air are just memories. We sing it with a heavy heart, wishing to protect our planet before it’s too late. Produced in stop-motion (a plasticine animation technique), the clip was voted Music Video of the Year at the 2006 Gala de l’ADISQ. We see this last human living his final moments as the human species is being destroyed. (SEN)
3. autumn melody
(union break2002)
The generations follow one another and do not remain indifferent to this great song that the spectators inevitably sing in chorus at the group’s concerts. Toune d’automne, the culmination of “fringant” melancholy, whose accordion notes are among the most beautiful in Quebec chansonnier repertoire, continues to touch the hearts of all who discover it, more than 20 years after its release. Personally, I still have a video of my son trying, with all the awkwardness of a three-year-old, to sing his favorite band’s first song. (BC)
2. America is crying
(The antipodes – 2019)
Winner of Song of the Year at the ADISQ Gala, this song has become a hymn to the major upheavals in our lives, particularly those that should come with the pandemic. She also amazes with the accuracy of her words and her forward-thinking side. This piece is more than a simple song whose dance steps we quickly learned from the music video. It’s about a truck driver who manages to point out everything that’s wrong in our society in America. It rose to number one on the Quebec BDS chart by ADISQ and stayed there for 26 weeks. The film of the same name takes us through the rural landscapes of Quebec, accompanied by the group singing their hits there. (SEN)
1. shooting stars
(High fair2004)
Building on the immense success of the Break syndical album two years earlier, the Cowboys hit a huge home run in 2004 with the instant classic Les Étoiles Filantes (Félix de la chanson populaire in 2005). Under the pen of Jean-François Pauzé, the group invented a song that mixed nostalgia and hope. Musically, the accordion melody by Marie-Annick Lépine was directly inspired by the “Trust” section of Passe-Partout. This is certainly why the play, upon its release, quickly touched the emotional fiber of thousands of Chicks and Poussinettes. The European fans of the band have also established a nice tradition for years and throw paper planes during the concert at the time of these words: “When paper planes stop flying in the wind”. (RGM)