Excerpt from the program “Soirée canadienne” in Saint-Eustache

Montage of two excerpts from the episode of the television program Soirée canadienne featuring Saint-Eustache. Broadcast from 1960 to 1983 on Télé-Métropole, the program highlighted Québecois folklore and rural life. In each episode, talent from a different village was invited to introduce their birthplace and perform.

In this montage of excerpts, a portrait of the City of Saint-Eustache is painted; then, a citizen of the town sings a response song with the audience. The two excerpts are transcribed below:

First excerpt:

[Lively melody played on the piano. We see Rivière-des-Mille-Îles in winter, then the back of the Saint-Eustache church and the Notre-Dame convent. The ground is covered with snow.]

Narration: Located at the confluence of the Rivière-des-Milles-Îles and the Rivière du Chêne, the city of Saint-Eustache offers a host of benefits to its population of 26,000: …

[Cars drive along a highway next to a Saint-Eustache neighbourhood. A few cars and houses cross the screen, then the camera moves to the passenger seat of a car and we see vehicles, roads and businesses passing by.]

… a well-connected network of roads makes large urban centres like Laval and Montréal easily accessible, as well as the Laurentians with all their recreation areas. Many freeways have facilitated the expansion of the City of Saint-Eustache. The town has gradually become a city after many decades of…

[Shot of a bridge crossing a river in winter, followed by a dark shot of a Saint-Eustache neighbourhood.]

…a highly sought-after tourist site because of the banks of the Rivière des Milles-Iles, the beauty of its environment and the quietness of the surrounding countryside.

[We see hands buttering cobs of corn. This shot is quickly followed by images of various locations introduced in the narration.]

Over the past 20 years, Saint-Eustache has seen unprecedented development with a hospital, an industrial park, small family businesses like sugar shacks, its centre for chronic illnesses and its many municipal services: parks, an arena, a library, a cultural centre, its many schools including a vocational high school, and the bus manufacturing plant recently built by General Motors.

[Shot of a bungalow-filled neighbourhood in Saint-Eustache.]

It certainly seems that citizens have everything they need in the local area to be proud of living in Saint-Eustache.

[The camera moves to the passenger seat of a car and we see Boulevard Arthur-Sauvé passing by, followed by a shot of apartment blocks and small trees.]

Located in the immediate vicinity of the huge Mirabel airport complex, the town has a bright future ahead of it, where business and industry will provide the local workforce with all the opportunities required for a healthy, developing community.

Second excerpt:

[In an old-fashioned living room setting, the host and a participant in the program sit face to face. Behind them, audience members are seated around a table or on armchairs. We can also see a grandfather clock.]

Louis Bilodeau (LB): Which one are you going to sing for us?

Singer (S): La Boiteuse.

LB: Oh, La Boiteuse! Alright, go ahead!

[The participant walks around, swaying and moving his arms as he sings. He imitates the Boiteuse (the “lame girl”). He is accompanied by a pianist who is off screen. The audience claps along.]

S: Jamais on a vu une boiteuse aussi joyeuse, jamais on a vu une boiteuse aussi jolie. (“You’ve never seen a lame girl so happy, never seen a lame girl so lovely.”)

Audience (A) [in response]: jamais on a vu une boiteuse aussi jolie.

S: Quand la boiteuse s’en va à l’eau, quand la boiteuse s’en va à l’eau. (“When the lame girl goes to fetch water”)

A: Quand la boiteuse s’en va à l’eau, quand la boiteuse s’en va à l’eau.

S: N’y va jamais sans ses deux sceaux, n’y va jamais sans ses deux sceaux. (“She never goes without her two buckets”)

A: N’y va jamais sans ses deux sceaux, n’y va jamais sans ses deux sceaux.

S: Elle s’en va à la rivière, en se tortillant le derrière. Donnez-moi de l’eau, voici mes deux sceaux. Jamais on a vu une boiteuse aussi joyeuse, jamais on a vu une boiteuse aussi jolie. (“She goes to the river, wiggling her behind. Give me some water, here are my two buckets. You’ve never seen a lame girl so lovely , etc.”)

A: Jamais on a vu une boiteuse aussi jolie.

S: Quand la boiteuse s’en va au lait, quand la boiteuse s’en va au lait. (“When the lame girl goes to fetch milk.”)

A: Quand la boiteuse s’en va au lait, quand la boiteuse s’en va au lait.

S: N’y va jamais sans ses paquets, n’y va jamais sans ses paquets. (“She never goes without her parcels.”)

A: N’y va jamais sans ses paquets, n’y va jamais sans ses paquets.

S: Elle s’en va chez la fermière en se dandinant le derrière. Donnez-moi du lait, voici mes paquets… Jamais on a vu une boiteuse aussi joyeuse, jamais on a vu une boiteuse aussi jolie. (“She goes to see the farmer’s wife, wiggling her behind. Give me some milk, here are my parcels… You’ve never seen a lame girl so lovely, etc.”)

A: Jamais on a vu une boiteuse aussi jolie.