Last Day of School Lots of Places, First Day of Winter: Time to REcognize the Work of Teachers

This is a video posted last spring during negotiations between Quebec and public school teachers. An agreement was finally worked out, but the fight for proper recognition and support for public schools continues. The song is a reworking of a very popular bittersweet one by a group called Les Aiëux which chronicles progress and lack of progress in Quebec.

Here are the original words, with a translation from the blog From Now On . I can't find the name of the person who did it, but thanks to him. The song elicited considerable brouhaha among Pro-Life forces since it seems to be anti-abortion. The group came out strongly against that idea, and since has allowed it to be used by a number of progressive groups, like the teachers' union.

Ton arrière-arrière grand-père (Your great-great-grandfather)
Il a défriché la terre (He has cleared the land)
Ton arrière-grand-père (Your great-grandfather )
Il a labouré la terre (He has ploughed the land)
Et pis ton grand-père (And then your grandfather)
A rentabilisé la terre (made money with the land)
Et pis ton père y l'a vendu (And then your father sold it)
Pour devenir fonctionnaire (To become a state employee)

Et puis toé mon ptit gars (And then you lil' guy )
Tu sais pu c'que tu vas faire (You don’t know what you will do)
Dans ton ptit trois et demi (In your small apartment)
Ben trop cher frête en hiver (Too expensive and cold in winter)
Il te vient des envies (You have desires)
De devenir propriétaire (To become a home owner)
Et tu rêves la nuit (And you dream at night)
D'avoir ton petit lopin d'terre.. (Of owning your little piece of land…)

Ton arrière-arrière grand-mère (Your great-great-grandmother)
Elle a eue quatorze enfants (Gave birth to 14 children)
Ton arrière grand-mère (Your great-grandmother )
En a eue quasiment autant (Had almost as many )
Et pis ta grand-mère (And then your grandmother)
En a eue trois s'tait suffisant (Had only 3 it was enough)
Pis ta mère en voulait pas (And then your mother didn’t want any)
Toé t'était un accident (You were an accident)

Et puis toé ma tite fille (And then you lil' girl)
Tu changes de partenaire tout le temps (You swap partners all the time)
Quand tu fais des conneries (When you’re in trouble)
Tu t'en sauves en avortant (You save yourself by aborting)
mais ya des matins (But on some mornings)
Tu te réveilles en pleurant (You wake-up crying)
Quand tu rêves la nuit... (When you dream at night…)
D'une grande table entourée d'enfants... (Of a large table surrounded by children)

Ton arrière arrière grand-père (Your great-great-grandfather)
À vécu la grosse misère (Has lived in extreme poverty)
Ton arrière grand père (Your great-grandfather )
Il ramassait les cennes noires (He saved every penny)
Et pis ton grand-père (And then your grandfather)
Miracle yé devenu millionnaire (Miracle, has become millionaire)
Ton père en a hérité (Your father inherited)
Y l'a toute mis dans ses REER (And putted all in his RRSP)

Et puis toé tite jeunesse (And then you lil' youth)
Tu doit ton cul au ministère (You owe your butt to the government)
Pas moyen d'avoir un prêt (There’s no way you can have a loan)
Dans une institution bancaire (At a financial institute)
Pour calmer tes envies (For easing your desires)
De Holdoper la caissière (To hold-up the cashier)
Tu lis des livres qui parle (You read books about)
De simplicité volontaire... (the voluntary simplicity.. )

Tes arrières arrières grands-parents (Your great-great-grandparents)
Ils savaient comment fêter (Knew how to celebrate)
Tes arrières grands-parents (Your great-grandparents )
Ça swingnait fort dans les veillées (Were swinging hard in the parties)
Pis tes grands-parents (And then your grandparents)
Ont connus l'époque YÉYÉ (Live the Yé-Yé era )
Tes parents c’tait des Disco (For your parents it was the Discos)
C’ la qu'ils se sont rencontrés (That is where they have met)

Et puis toé mon ami (And then you my friend)
Qu’es que tu fais de ta soirée (What are you doing tonight)
Éteint donc ta T.V (Shut off your T.V. )
faut pas rester encabanné (You shouldn’t stay locked inside)
Heureusement que dans vie (It’s a good thing that in life )
Certaines choses refusent de changer (Some things refuse to change)
Enfilent tes plus beaux habits (Put on your nicest clothes)
car nous allons ce soir dansés....... ( ‘cause we’re going out to dance…)