Getting to know French Canadian singer Garou
by Translator Mariana Prandi.
It is much easier to learn languages like French nowadays. In the past, there was very little material in English, let alone French. There were few people who spoke it or taught it and almost no possibility to practice it without traveling abroad.
But, not any more! Gone are the excuses that you can’t buy imported movies or books, that CDs are expensive, or that your vacation days are not enough for a long trip to Europe.
Now you can go all over the world virtually without leaving home.
Several times we talked about streaming platforms or series, which offer both study material and entertainment to learn without even realizing. Everything we mentioned in this article can be found for free.
Today it’s time to talk about music platforms. YouTube and Spotify, to name just the best known, have free versions that let you listen to a lot of their material in exchange for watching advertising. There are treasures waiting for you. You just need to know what to look for.
One such treasure is found thanks to Canada.
Although its performers are not as well known as those of its neighboring United States, Canada offers options to enjoy English and French, possibly at the same time, because some of them speak and sing in both languages. So there are not only songs, but interviews and Instagram and Facebook accounts with content to enjoy.
Francophonie in Canada – What is it?
The word “Francophonie” is used to refer to people who speak French.
In Canada, English and French have official language status.
French Canadians (French: Canadien français; Spanish: francocanandienses) live in Ottawa, Cornwall, Greater Sudbury and Windsor (all in the province of Ontario), Winnipeg (capital of the province of Manitoba) and Rivière-la-Paix (in the province of Alberta).
French is spoken in Quebec, but Quebeckers or Quebecers (Québécois for the masculine and Québécoise for the feminine) do not use the word French-Canadian, unless they study English and differentiate themselves from English speakers, i.e. those who speak English.
According to Wikipedia, in English, the federal government style distinguishes the city and province by spelling the city with an acute accent (Québec) and the province without one (Quebec).
Garou
One of the most talented performers of Canadian Francophonie is the singer Garou, who was born on June 26, 1972 in Sherbrooke, a city south of Quebec.
He has this nickname because his real name is Pierre Garand, not because it alludes to the villain of the Japanese manga One Punch-Man who has the same name, nor Loup Garou or Rougarou, both of which refer to a werewolf.
Garou is known for his really deep voice, almost transparent light blue eyes and a smile typical of a soap opera actor. He is an actor, but his main role was that of a man known for his ugliness. The ironies of life…
Like many other Canadian singers, Garou is also fluent in English, and he has released several records in English, but today we are focusing on his French speaking career.
The Voice
He is known to the general public for his participation as a judge in the reality talent show “La voix” and “La plus belle voix”, of The Voice franchise.
Notre Dame de Paris – Belle
His theater career includes the musical Notre Dame de Paris, based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel about the hunchback of Notre Dame who lived in the cathedral and fell in love with a gypsy woman called Esmeralda. The musical premiered in 1998 in France. Garou played the title character: Quasimodo.
The music was composed by Riccardo Cocciante and the lyrics were written by Luc Plamondon, two internationally recognized authors.
The musical includes dance numbers with acrobatics and moments of great feeling. Another multitalented Canadian singer, Daniel Lavoie, also worked in the beginning.
The most beautiful song (which lives up to its name) is called “Belle”, where the three suitors of the female protagonist reflect on their feelings about her.
You can see the song in live versions and the almost complete play if you search for all the keywords together “Notre Dame de Paris”, “musical” and “1998” on YouTube.
There is also the English version Belle (Is The Only Word) with the voices of two of the original singers, Garou and Daniel Lavoie and a new lead, Steve Balsamo.
Seul … avec vous ! =Alone… with you!
Garou’s debut album, released in 2000, is called “Seul” (Alone). It starts with the song “Gitan” and ends with “L’adieu”. The song “Sous le vent” is a duet with Céline Dion and also appears on one of her albums.
In 2001, the album “Seul…. avec vous!” (alone with you) was released. The songs from his debut album are performed live.
A song that we all can sing!
In 2022, the album “Garou joue Dassin” (that can be translated as Garou plays Dassin) was released. It’s a play on words because “jouer” means to play, and the songs on it were big hits by singer Joe Dassin. Some tracks include “À toi”, “Et si tu n’existais pas” and “Salut les amoreux”. They may not be as famous by name to the general public, but they were covered by many performers, even in other languages.
As charismatic as Lupin?
Another of Garou’s albums is called “Gentleman Cambrioleur” (2009), which refers to the first of French author Maurice Leblanc’s collections, famous for its leading character “Arsène Lupin”.
Arsène Lupin was a charming and intelligent thief. The Netflix series “Lupin” pays tribute to him too. It’s just an example of the excellent material in French that can be found on streaming platforms and the internet in general. This is one more incentive to take the first steps with “the language of love” or to continue enjoying it, if you have already fallen for its charms.
At Incoteaching Idiomas, we offer personalized lessons in several languages, including French, in an affordable and enjoyable way. We look forward to seeing you.
À bientôt !
