Mon Pays
Encyclopedia
"Mon pays" is a song composed by Gilles Vigneault
in 1964.
The song was written for the NFB
film La Neige a fondu sur la Manicouagan, directed by Arthur Lamothe
. The song, with its lyrics about winds, cold, snow, and ice, of the solitude of wide open spaces and of the ideal of brotherhood, has become a kind of anthem in Quebec
, with many people seeing it as expressing the free spirit of the province; Vigneault, however, has denied that this was ever his intention.
Vigneault won the Prix Félix-Leclerc at the 1965 Festival du disque de Montréal for the song. Later that same year, Monique Leyrac
performed it at the International Song Festival
in Sopot
, Poland
, taking first prize with it.
In 1976 "Mon Pays" was reworked into the disco
song "From New York to L.A." recorded by Patsy Gallant
. This song with English lyrics by Gene Williams unrelated to the original French, was an international hit for Gallant - Canada/ #6, the UK/ #6, Ireland/ #5, Australia/ #10, the Netherlands/ #15, Norway/ #7, South Africa/ #5, Sweden/ #17, - and in 1995 reached #5 in Austria via a remake credited to N.Y.L.A. featuring Stephanie McKay.
Gilles Vigneault
Gilles Vigneault, is a Canadian poet, publisher and singer-songwriter, and well-known Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist.A poet deeply rooted in his native Quebec, Vigneault has become an icon at home and Quebec ambassador abroad...
in 1964.
The song was written for the NFB
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
film La Neige a fondu sur la Manicouagan, directed by Arthur Lamothe
Arthur Lamothe
Arthur Lamothe is a French Canadian film director and film producer.-Biography:Lamothe immigrated to Canada in 1953 and immediately got a job as a lumberjack in the Abitibi region of northern Quebec. In 1954 he began studying economic science at the Université de Montréal...
. The song, with its lyrics about winds, cold, snow, and ice, of the solitude of wide open spaces and of the ideal of brotherhood, has become a kind of anthem in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, with many people seeing it as expressing the free spirit of the province; Vigneault, however, has denied that this was ever his intention.
Vigneault won the Prix Félix-Leclerc at the 1965 Festival du disque de Montréal for the song. Later that same year, Monique Leyrac
Monique Leyrac
Monique Leyrac, is a Canadian singer and actress from Quebec. Born Monique Tremblay in Montreal, Quebec 1928. She was the first great international star from French Canada. Using her natural gifts of music and drama she started her acting career on radio in 1943...
performed it at the International Song Festival
Sopot International Song Festival
The Sopot International Song Festival is an international song contest held in Sopot, Poland. It was the biggest Polish music festival altogether with the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, and one of the biggest annual song contest in Europe...
in Sopot
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, taking first prize with it.
In 1976 "Mon Pays" was reworked into the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
song "From New York to L.A." recorded by Patsy Gallant
Patsy Gallant
Patsy Gallant is a Canadian pop singer and musical theatre actress. Of Acadian ancestry, she has recorded and performed in both English and French.-Successful beginnings in French :...
. This song with English lyrics by Gene Williams unrelated to the original French, was an international hit for Gallant - Canada/ #6, the UK/ #6, Ireland/ #5, Australia/ #10, the Netherlands/ #15, Norway/ #7, South Africa/ #5, Sweden/ #17, - and in 1995 reached #5 in Austria via a remake credited to N.Y.L.A. featuring Stephanie McKay.