Digital Tradition Mirror

L'Acadie

L'Acadie
(Roger Stone)

Have you ever been here where the cool Atlantic air
Whispers l'Acadie to those so far away from here.
Over two hundred years, and a thousand bitter tears
Have failed to drown the pride of l'Acadie.

Woman, child and man were taken from their land
By men who got their orders from men beyond our borders.
Sweethearts watched from the shore, their loves to hold no more
As they sailed from their hearts in l'Acadie.

Chorus:
Hear our children playing
And we know they are here to stay
Where their fathers returned to their children and their lovers
Sailed back to the heart of l'Acadie.

Instrumental break

Over two hundred years, and a thousand bitter tears
The tongues that gave the orders are threatening our borders.
And the powerful few, with blood like me and you
Should have learned a thing or two from l'Acadie.

Chorus:

Instrumental break

Chorus:

Tag:
The place for you and me is l'Acadie.
La place pour toi et moi est l'Acadie.

-------

I came across this song on a home-made tape lent by a friend. I was wondering if
 anybody knows who wrote the song, how long it's been around and/or how I could
contact the composer. I know some McPhees married Acadian women in later years a
nd I suspect Cyril McPhee has Acadian blood coursing through his veins.

The history of l'Acadie is my heritage. Acadia was established on the east coast
 of Canada by French settlers in the mid-1600's. The portion located in present
day mainland Nova Scotia fell under permanent English Rule under the Treaty of U
trecht in 1713. Most Acadians pledged allegiance to the British King in subseque
nt years but their adamant refusal to bear arms against remaining French settlem
ents did not sit well with colonial authorities. New England authorities coveted
 the rich farmlands of the Acadians and their lucrative cod fishery; they were j
ealous of the success of Acadians active in the coastal trade; and they feared t
hat Acadians could become an important military factor if they chose to relocate
 to other colonies, especially Ile Royale, now Cape Breton, where the fortress o
f Louisbourg posed a significant military threat to English
otia after 1763 to settle as near as possible to the land they loved. I have ide
ntified some of these people who are my 7th, 8th and 9th great grandparents incl
ding those who lived, those who died, those who returned and those who remained
in permanent exile.

The lyrics in the second verse are a bit inaccurate in that nobody was allowed t
o remain behind and "watch from the shore" as men and fathers were taken away. T
he fact is that entire familes were packed on ships and sent to what was, for mo
st, permanent exile.

Those who returned after 1763 found their villages burned and their land occuped
 by New Englanders. They had no choice but to settle as near as possible to the
original Acadie and re-establish l'Acadie in their hearts while living within th
e boundaries of what had become a foreign, and often hostile, land. These Acadia
ns aind their descendants have, ever since, fought a valiant struggle to keep th
e spirit of Acadie alive. BL


The author of the song is Roger Stone. The Stone is from his
 well know Cape Breton fiddler. His brother is Dwayne Coté another well-known fi
ddler from Cape Breton. The family is from St. Peter's, Cape Breton.
The group who sang the song is most likely, Brakin' Tradition. This is a group w
hich Cyril McPhee (who is also from the St. Peter's area) and Roger Stone formed
 in the late '80s. The group was around in various incarnations for around 15 ye
ars. This song, I think, was on the PowerFolk recording, their second recording
from 1993.
Oh, I disagree with your comment about the secopnd verse. Most of them in family
 settings were kept together, but there were some who stayed because they had pl
edged. The ones sent away were the ones who did NOT swear allegiance to the King
. As well, there is the situation where you have a family sent on a different sh
ip than the family of a betrothed.
Saw Roger last night at the Bill Staines show. He said that he DID sing it on th
e original recording, but apparently Cyril sang in on a later recording after Ro
ger left Brakin' T
rnacular specific to the Acadien French told him that THIS is the way it would b
e said there, The place for me and thee, it's Acadie
Roger also confirmed that he did the research, and there were many families spli
t up and separated on the ships, but that also quite a number of the Acadian men
 escaped and did NOT go on the ships.

His intent at the time he wrote it was to remind the Acadien populace, that they
 do have a reasonable method of working with Federal government, and that here w
e didn't need the interference of outsiders with a more militant stance to come
and take over from the more easy-going Acadiens. GS



BL GS

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!

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