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Immensely Popular Quebec Folk Song Laments Abortion and the Modern Culture of Sterility

Song is one of the most frequently downloaded iTunes in Canada

By Elizabeth O’Brien

MONTREAL, June 25, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One of the most frequently downloaded iTunes in Canada, a French-language song entitled “Dégénerations,” vividly portrays a woman’s sorrow and pain after having an abortion.

Written by the Quebec folk-rock band, “Mes Aïeux” (My Ancestors), the song compares the simple, yet fruitful lifestyle of “ton arrière-arrière-grand-père” (or “your great-great-grandfather”) to the stress and sterility of modern day life. Mirroring this idea, the music starts with a simple drum beat that gradually accelerates to an almost frantic gallop.

Using specific examples, the song describes how life becomes empty and unnatural when it is severed from one’s land and heritage. Verse three, for example, shows the contrast between how, “Your great great grandmother, she had 14 kids,” whereas “Your mom didn’t want any, you were an accident.”

The song also relates how each generation is growing increasingly hostile to life. In verse four, it addresses the present generation and specifically refers to abortion as a traumatizing mistake for a woman.

The French lyrics run as follows:

“Et pis toi, ma p’tite fille, tu changes de partenaire tout l’temps
Quand tu fais des conneries, tu t’en sauves en avortant.”
“Mais y’a des matins, tu te réveilles en pleurant
Quand tu rêves la nuit d’une grande table entourée d’enfants.”

Roughly translated into English, the words say:

“Now you, my little lady, change partners all the time
When you screw up you save yourself by aborting
But there are mornings when you awake crying
When you dream in the night of a large table surrounded by little ones.”

The song title is a play on words that signifies not only the passing of generations, but the moral degeneration as well. Since the 1960’s, Quebec has been steadily moving away from its Catholic heritage, and the province’s birthrate is now one of the lowest in the Western world. As a consequence Quebec is predicted to experience a 50% decline in the real growth rate of its GDP within the next decade.

Nevertheless, only last year 10,000 young Québecois Catholics—the “true army of 10,000 fervent Catholics” according to Journal de Québec—gathered in Quebec City to celebrate the 11th anniversary of Evangelization 2000. Such an indication of revival had not occurred in Quebec for over twenty years (see http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/may/06052606.html).

Another sign of increasing cultural awareness, Mes Aïeux’s album “En Famille” (With the Family), featuring “Dégénerations”, won a Félix Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 2005. By December of the next year, “En Famille” sold 200,000 copies and was certified double platinum.

See the “Dégénerations” song video on YouTube (English Subtitles):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKCRHhmHvjg

For an English translation of the lyrics:
http://durendal.wordpress.com/2007/03/22/mes-aieux-degenerat...

See Related LifeSiteNews coverage:

Quiet Counter-Revolution in Coaticook, Quebec
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04030210.html

Quebec to Experience Most Rapid Demographic Decline of all Industrialized Countries
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/oct/05102501.html

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