A Suite of Canadian Folksongs
HB-1079
Program notes for the 1996 AGEHR Area XII Conference Choir, San Diego, California
One of Canada's few bilingual songs, "I Went To the Market" was made popular in Quebec by the well-known French-Canadian singer, Helene Baillargeon. She had learned it from her husband who learned it from his father around 1918.
The person who sang "The Morning Dew" to Maud Karpeles in 1929 could only recall two verses of this beautiful love song. But the words contained in the fragment seem to convey all that is needed.
Originally a children's song, "Auprès de ma Blonde" [At My Sweetheart's Side] eventually became popular with soldiers, who used it as a marching song. Like "Alouette" it is sung and loved even by people who do not understand French.