Complainte Pour Ste. Catherine

Written by Anna McGarrigle and Philippe Tatarcheff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmmelsbp96k

Lyrics

Moi, j’me promene sur Ste Catherine
J’profite d’la chaleur du métro
J’ne regarde pas dans les vitrines
Quand il fait trente en d’ssous d’zero

Y’a longtemps qu’on fait la politique
Vingt ans de guerre contre les Moustiques
Je ne me sens pas intripide
Quand il fait fret j’fais pas du ski
J’ai pas d’motel aux Laurentides
Le Sunday c’est l’soir du hockey

Y’a longtemps qu’on fait la politique
Vingt ans de guerre contre les Moustiques
Fait pas car que j’suis une imbecile
Parce que j’chauf pas une convertible
La gloire c’est pas mal inutile
Aux prix du gas c’est trop penible

Y’a longtemps qu’on fait la politique
Vingt ans de guerre contre les Moustiques
On s’est sous frappe ca s’adonne**
On a toujours eu du bon temps
Parce qu’on est sur la tierre des hommes
Memes les femmes et les enfants

Y’a longtemps qu’on fait la politique
Vingt ans de guerre contre les Moustiques
Croyez pas qu’on n’est pas chretiens
Le dimanche on promene son chien
La La La La La La La La La

Translation

Me, I walk along Ste Catherine
Getting the warmth from the Métro
I don’t look through shop windows
When it’s thirty below zero We’ve been in politics for a long time

Twenty years of war against mosquitos
I don’t feel intrepid
I don’t ski when it’s cold
I don’t have a motel in the Laurentians
Sunday night is hockey night
We’ve been in politics for a long time

Twenty years of war against mosquitos
Don’t think that I’m an fool
Because I don’t drive a convertible
The glory is fairly useless
At the price of gas (petrol) it’s too distressing
We’ve been in politics for a long time

Twenty years of war against mosquitos
We’re all brothers and it so happens
That we’ve always had a good time
Because we’re on the earth of men
And women and children
We’ve been in politics for a long time

Twenty years of war against mosquitos
Don’t believe that we’re not Christians
On Sundays we walk our dogs

Commentary

This song (or more accurately Kirsty’s version of it) has been debated at length over the years. Here are some of the corrections, comments and general musings:

  1. Ste Catherine is the patron saint of single girls and also the name of Montreal’s main shopping street.  It’s also the name of a Metro station, but you ‘profite de la chaleur du métro”’ when you’re above ground, standing atop the exhaust vents that pump out stale hot air from the subway.
  2. ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ (the name of the broadcast) is on Saturday night, not Sunday. However, ‘Samedi’ (Saturday) sounds like ‘Sunday’ and whoever prepared the lyrics for the liner notes may have been doing it from memory. Which could have been Kirsty herself – it sounds like ‘Le Sunday’ on the recording, too. – JM2
  3. One line in Kirsty’s version is nonsensical, in which she sings, “On s’est sous frappe ça s’adonne””, which translates literally as “One is oneself under hit that devotes itself”. The line is actually ‘On est tous frères pis ça s’adonne / qu’on a toujours eu du bon temps’ which means “We’re all brothers ’cause we devote ourselves to always having a good time”
  4. It would be a bit of a stretch to say ‘Ste-Catherine’ is a song about Montréal politics. The bit about ‘la politique’ is a joke, seeing as the only politics the narrator’s interested in is the battle against mosquitos (though admittedly this is a serious enough concern during the Canadian summer!). In my humble opinion, the song just says, I like to have a good time, don’t judge me. – BB
  5. Of course ‘Complainte&lrquo; is politics: story of a street hooker and her bitter comments on hypocrisy… – gvda
  6. ‘Adonner’ or ‘s’adonner’ in Quebec French means to happen by coincidence or good luck, so the meaning is We’re all brothers and it so happens That we’ve always had a good time . – PC
  7. Je n’ me regarde pas dans les vitrines – when it’s 33 degrees C minus zero, people run from metro to metro and have no time to look in window panes to see if their hair is right or what is in the windows. – Charles from Amsterdam
  8. J’ai pas d’ motel aux Laurentides – People tend to have a small second house up in the Laurentides, north of Montreal, mainly to ski. In summer there’s a lot of mosquitos. But the singer has not, she’s ordinary. – Charles from Amsterdam
  9. Le samedi c’est l’ soir du hockey – The singer is an ordinary citizen, like everybody else, she watches ice hockey on Saturdays. – Charles from Amsterdam
  10. On est tous frères pis ça s’adonne – (This one you got wrong according to my info.) S’adonner means to like each other very much in a familiar way: to be fond of each other. We are all brothers because we are all fond of each other (i.e. the singer and her friends) Ça = that = (here) part of colloquial or vernacular : the people or thing we are talking about = us (used because it is ‘logical’, ‘goes without saying’, this exists in France as well) – Charles from Amsterdam
  11. Le dimanche on promène son chien – We don’t do anything sinful on Sundays. – Charles from Amsterdam
  12. Il fais fret (il fais frais!) does not mean ‘it snows” but ‘It is cold’. The fourth line in the second verse should therefore read: I don’t ski when it’s cold.

Original lyric

The song was first released on the debut album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle in 1976. Here are the original McGarrigles lyrics in full:

Moi j’ me promène sous Ste-Catherine
J’ profite de la chaleur du métro
Je n’ me regarde pas dans les vitrines
Quand il fait trente en-dessous d’ zéro
Y’a longtemps qu’on fait d’ la politique
Vingt ans de guerre contre les moustiques
Je ne me sens pas intrépide
Quand il fait fret j’ fais pas du ski
J’ai pas d’ motel aux Laurentides
Le samedi c’est l’ soir du hockey

Y’a longtemps qu’on fait d’ la politique
Vingt ans de guerre contre les moustiques
Faut pas croire que j’ suis une imbécile
Parce que j’ chauffe pas une convertible
La gloire c’est pas mal inutile
Au prix du gaz c’est trop pénible

Y’a longtemps qu’on fait d’ la politique
Vingt ans de guerre contre les moustiques
On est tous frères pis ça s’adonne
Qu’on a toujours eu du bon temps
Parce qu’on reste sur la terre des hommes
Même les femmes et les enfants

Y’a longtemps qu’on fait d’ la politique
Vingt ans de guerre contre les moustiques
Croyez pas qu’on est pas chrétiens
Le dimanche on promène son chien
La la la…

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