When a culture is perfectly captured in a song :)

[Aemma]

I wasn't sure if I wanted to post this here or in the Favourite Videos thread. But upon further reflection I think that this video's home is truly found here.

This music video entitled "Dégénération" sung by the group 'Mes Aieux' (My Ancestors) in my native Canadian French excellently portrays the evolution, or rather in this context, the degeneration of a culture and of a People. The title of the song speaks to us on two levels. Firstly, it speaks of the 'degeneration', seen more so as 'retrogressiveness', with respect to the plight of a fallen and deteriorating People who with time have succumbed to the same ills as the rest of the modern Western world: a devaluing of one's roots, one's culture, one's family, and finally one's personal integrity and honour. On another level the song speaks ever so subtlely, through its clever double entendre (dégénération = des générations (some generations), to the continuity of self through one's ancestors: as much as our ancestors are a part of us, we forever remain the living part of them and as such have failed them miserably with respect to maintaining an honourable way of life. Or at least this is the message that this musical group would have us ponder.

I love this piece, not only for its message which can make one think deeply about one's present place in the world and how one has the power to choose to honour one's ancestors, and hence self and culture, but also for its simplicity of music. The melody itself, which is highly reminiscent of typical French Canadian folkloric music, results in somewhat of a McLuhanesque entity, where the medium indeed becomes the message: French Canadian folk music has a rich heritage of conveying the sentiment of a People, be it the music of our own generation or that of generations past. And with each and every drum beat of this song, any proud French Canadian can, not only hear but, feel the Ancestral Cry.

Here's the vid. I hope you enjoy it:


[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKCRHhmHvjg"]Mes Aïeux - Dégénération (English Subtitles)[/youtube]


Salut!...Aemma

[Vulpix]

Funny, Olvik posted this song in the folk music thread .

(Don't worry if it has been posted already; it's fine ).

[YggsVinr]

I absolutely love that song, and I find it unfortunate that the band never continued in that style on the rest of the album. My mother had bought the CD thinking the rest of it would be like Dégénération, but unfortunately it wasn't.

Btw, what do you all think of the band Le Vent du Nord. Really love their music as well.

[Grumpy Cat]

I love this song, and the album, and well, this band!

Le repos du guerrier is another great song by them.

[Psychonaut]

WOW!

I don't know how I missed this post, but that is one of the most powerful folk songs I've heard in years! Pure truth in musical form!

[Birka]

Fantastic song. I was raised on a farm, and the theme of the the soil, and working the soil was so powerful to me. Without the soil, what are we? The soil is such a great representation of our roots, and where are we without our roots?

Does anyone have a version of this song in English, although it sounds so perfect in the French-Canadian as it is recorded?

[YggsVinr]

There is no English version of the song. I don't think it'd really work, anyway. But there are subtitles on the video for those who don't understand