Anti-neoliberal Quebec separatist hip hop anthem from 2003.
Translated lyrics: Free Us from the Liberals
Ready or not, Charest1 the plow, determined, reduces to shreds the skeleton Of the house we've spent 40 years building2 Didn't you vouch for Amir Khadir?3 - (...) Now the table is set for 4 years of suffering, obviously fading Bewildered at the sight of this bunch of fools who don't waste time selling off At low price, on the side, what can't be bought Once their mandate is over, the country will look like giblets Gloomy cut, clearcutting, Grey Cup "Skylark, I will pluck you"4 And to cut short the population's wrath Fatty stifles the crowd and comes up with new laws at a breakneck speed And smiling, serves us the soup kitchen (That's what solidarity looks like when you've thrown everything to the ground) To shut up an argument which is unique here, in North America But his business is much too pleasing to the business regents Of Canada and of the Quebec Council of Employers 5 Gagged or not, I keep taunting the boss of the bosses "Shut up, Taillon!"6 Hey, if demented dismantling excites you so much If it's like music to your ears How do you like the noise the barbarians are making, in your haggard greedy ear-drums?
Faced with the threat of this clearance sale we raise The fist of the Motherland to the bandit's face Faced with the threat of this clearance sale we raise the fist...
Free us from the Liberals!7
I tell it straight up, adamant Jean Charest, Mike Harris8: same ideas, same charisma Same sale of public goods and services Shit, this needs to end Hunting down the unemployed, it's an unexpected bonus for them And for those who waste away The only hope left is to pray Saint-Jean-Baptiste This will teach you, you bunch of separatists 9 There's no place, we can't make money Energy Performance Contracts for the SGF10, the CPE11 or the SDF12 A tax on the religious collection? Why, that's a great idea They govern Quebec just like a SME13 Just like a pimp manages his whores so they give as many B-L-O-W-J-O-B-S as possible, damn It's known, it's no secret, to the 24 Sussex Drive14 the key to success Is to render Quebec asexual What a good subject for Jean-Claude Labrecque 15 "At a Gnome's Height" (At a zipper's height) To blow while standing up, that's how you stand straight...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzip: "I am ready"16
We're far from 'Masters in our own home'17 Now more than ever there's a traitor in our home It's obvious when he talks like the back of a cereal box18 If you think you can shut me up you're wasting your time, I'm inexhaustible "I travel beneath your sky, Muse! and I am your vassal"19
Faced with the threat... Free us from the Liberals!
While Sherbrooke's brat20 Sells at a cheap price, at the souk, what makes us different At the Federal Liberal Carnival, it goes on "Viva Canada! Banana Republica!" "One mandate after the other, we're still here!" A unique party means an unfair, cynical party who fucks up Any democratic debate The population's trust is broken 'Cause the emperor's corrupted court gathers the crowns21
And at last, when he feels the end is coming, the monarch gets off But gives the power to his right hand man Just like a good Christian king But if you ask me, Martin 22 Has more in common with the shark than with the dolphin
The shipowner, hustler, English, French - we're not really sure anymore Has a say in every matter He's the man of the shaloms and of the salamalecs 23 But how do you think he sees Quebec? For 10 years, like a real submarine Pretends he lends us his hand But look at him unmasting us By parking the feredals' huge boat in our waters Of course, he insinuates itself just like the marrow in a bone24 All in all, it seems pretty simple to me: Under the Liberals' reign Quebec and Ottawa are a scissors' blades One of those blades destroys the roots of the lily 25 And the other interferes with our public services Which means that emasculated, fucked in the ass, the answer isn't hard to find: we're gonna back off In front of so many Maple Leaves26 floating from every floor You better believe we're all gonna drown, crushed under this red tide Unless we decide to move... Come on, move!
Free us from the Liberals!
Blue-collars, white collars, all the schools together as one We gotta go out on the street, just like the floods in the spring We have to show our discontent, a stampede of cauldrons Enough talking, make some noise! A pandemonium to keel this party over, just like in Argentina and in Bolivia From a pole to the other, it's a continental observation: Down with the Liberal bulldozer!
Free us from the Liberals! Tamtid'lidé27 Tamtid'lido free us from the liberals
1.Jean Charest, Prime Minister of Quebec and chef of the Liberal Party since 2003. 2.This song was written in 2004 to denounce the Liberal politics, both in Quebec and Canada. 3.Amir Khadir, member of the Québec Solidaire party. 4.First lines of a popular French song. 'Les Alouettes' is also the name of Montreal's CFL team, and the Grey Cup is the trophy they're playing for. 5.Quebec Council of Employers. 6.From what I understand, this may be an allusion to the Taillon provincial electoral district, which is known for being in favour of the Parti Québécois. 7.Pun on 'libérer', and 'Libéraux'. 8.Mike Harris, ex-Ontarian Prime Minister. 9.Separatists want to break away from Canada. Quebec's national day is called 'la St-Jean-Baptiste'. 10.Société générale de financement, a holding company. 11.'Centre de la petite enfance', nursery and kindergarten combined. 12.'Sans domicile fixe'= the homeless. 13.PME=Petites et moyennes entreprises / SME=small and medium enterprises. 14.Residence of the Prime Minister of Canada. 15.Director and producer. 16.Quoting Jean Charest, here. 17.Famous quote by Jean Lesage, meaning the Quebecois should be the ones leading Quebec, not the English Canadians. 18.Since Canada is a bilingual country, everything food-related (amongst other things) is supposed to be written in both French and English, but the translators who have to write those messages are often not very skilled in French, resulting in awkward sentences. 19.Reference to Rimbaud's poem Ma Bohème. 20.Sherbrooke is Jean Charest's provincial electoral district. 21.Money. 22.Paul Martin, ex-Liberal Prime Minister of Canada. 23.'God be with you', in Hebrew and Arabic. 24.Pun on 'eaux' and 'os', which have the same pronunciation. 25.Reference to Quebec's flag and emblem. Also, 'décrisser' is stronger than 'destroy', since it's actually a swear word. 26.'Unifolié' is the nickname of Canada's flag. 27.Often heard in folk songs, doesn't actually have any meaning.