Thursday 30 December 2021

New Year's Song: On va s'aimer encore



Here's another great example of a video that adds striking dimension to the song it accompanies. Not that it isn't fine as it is; Vincent Vallières is among the most respected songwriters in Canada. But the juxtaposition of these images deepens the lyrics exponentially, turning Vallières' love song into a reflection on the temporal ground of being, and borrowing a few Zen references along the way. (Check out the Buddhist wheel of life at 2:32.)

It's no exaggeration to say that non-francophones could skip the translation (see below) entirely and just watch the video. With the music playing, of course.

Right from the first scene, the LP theme is genius. Not only does this medium literally spool out, turning 'round and 'round like life – till you wind down in the run-out groove – it's also legacy tech. The very sight of a phonograph record casts the mind back.

The vignettes that roll past thereafter will be recogniseable to anyone on the planet, but they have extra pathos for expats from la Belle Province: a rich reel of Québécois faces, places, and contexts that brings tears to my eyes.

Varying frame rates – slower than normal; faster; parameter – underscore the orchestral rhythms of life. It goes too fast; it goes too slow; sometimes it just goes, while we amble on unseeing. And it's all synchronised – wheels within wheels, out of our control, and for the most part beyond our comprehension.

Consider also that everyone in this dense little epigram is ten years older at this writing. The toddlers are in middle school; the small children are teenagers. The young adults have started their own journey, many including new children in turn. And some of the older subjects are almost certainly gone.

I never tire of this slide show. Another metaphor from my increasingly historical generation. As is the tone-arm return at the end, sure to provoke an emotional response in any who grew up on vinyl.

While we're up, it's also pointed Buddhist commentary on the nature of existence.

So for a tenth time, on this New Year's of 2021, I wish all my readers a promising and productive 2022, and hope to see us all back here again 12 months hence.


ON VA S'AIMER ENCORE
par Vincent Vallières

Quand on verra dans l'miroir
Nos faces ridées pleines d’histoires
Quand on en aura moins devant
Qu’on en a maintenant
Quand on aura enfin du temps
Et qu’on vivra tranquillement
Quand la maison s'ra payée
Qu’y restera plus rien qu’à s’aimer

On va s’aimer encore
Au travers des doutes
Des travers de la route
Et de plus en plus fort

On va s’aimer encore
Au travers des bons coups
Au travers des déboires
À la vie, à la mort

On va s’aimer encore
Quand nos enfants vont partir
Qu’on les aura vu grandir
Quand ce s'ra leur tour de choisir
Leur tour de bâtir
Quand nos têtes seront blanches
Qu’on aura de l’expérience
Quand plus personne n'va nous attendre
Qu’y restera plus rien qu’à
s’éprendre

On va s’aimer encore
Au travers des doutes
Des travers de la route
Et de plus en plus fort

On va s'aimer encore
Au travers des bons coups
Au travers des déboires
À la vie, à la mort

On va s’aimer encore
Quand les temps auront changé
Qu’on s'ra complètement démodés
Quand toutes les bombes auront sauté
Que la paix s'ra là pour rester
Quand sans boussole sans plan
On partira au gré du vent
Quand on lèvera les voiles
Devenues d'la poussière d’étoiles

On va s’aimer encore
Après nos bons coups
Après nos déboires
Et de plus en plus fort

On va s’aimer encore
Au bout de nos doutes
Au bout de la route
Au-delà de la mort

On va s'aimer encore
Au bout du doute
Au bout de la route
Au-delà de la mort

On va s'aimer


When we look into the mirror
And read the stories in the wrinkles
When there are fewer of them ahead
Than the ones we've already got
And when we live peaceably
With the house paid off
When the only thing left for it is to love each other

We'll still love each other
In the doubt
And the crosswalks
From more to more again

We'll still love each other
Through the triumphs
And the reversals
For life, till death

We'll still love each other
When our kids all move away
When we've seen them grown
When the choices become theirs
And the possibilities
When our hair turns white
When experience is ours
When no-one waits for us anymore
When the only thing left to do is to fall in love again

We'll still love each other
In the doubt
And the crosswalks
More and more every day

We'll still love each other
Through the triumphs
And the reversals
For life, till death

We'll still love each other
When the times have changed
When we're completely out of style
When all the bombs have exploded
When peace is here to stay
When, without compass or chart
We'll run before the wind
When we raise sails
Now made of stardust

We'll still love each other
After our triumphs
After our reversals
More and more every day

We'll still love each other
At the end of our doubts
At the end of the road
On the far side of death

We'll still love each other
Where the doubt ends
When the road ends
On the far side of death

We'll love each other

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