Le coeur est un oiseau (The heart is a bird)
446 views · Published 22 October 2018 · 2:58 · Indexed 26 September 2026
Channel: The Loteranger · 2018 · Music
www.FolkWorldMusicStore.com Saturday afternoon I fell asleep watching RDI TV, a French-language station out of Quebec. I awoke to the broadcast of a special tribute to Lise Payette, a major figure in Quebec’s feminist movement. (Payette was a journalist, a radio and television host, a TV writer and a former Parti Québécois minister. She died on Sept. 5 at the age of 87.) Many of you know I am always in search of a good tune, so when I heard the Riverin Sisters singing this tune, I knew I would have to learn it. Unfortunately, I missed performances by other great performers including wonderful Ginette Reno. Hopefully I will be able to find it on YouTube. I should mention I was moved by the lyrics of this song, which in my opinion could serve as an allegory for our own country. Regardless of our politics, I think most of us here in the USA realize that we are bitterly divided and that we are living in unusually uncertain times. As the bird faces numerous threats (hunger, cold, gunfire, etc), we have our own challenges; and as the song suggests, our collective heart is like the heart of a bird that, despite the many challenges it faces, will again someday spread its wings and return to its nest. Someday I hope we too will refocus and return to the values that made our country great many years ago. I hope. RIP Lise Payette. Quebec will never forget.
