Outburst of emotion
Summer 1970. I am 9 years old. The whole family is gathered at our chalet in Cap-à-l’Aigle. We are celebrating the return of one of my uncles there, after a long stay abroad. Mom takes out the pickup, puts a record in, and then we hear I’m coming back home. This is the first time I’ve seen my uncle cry. And I see the tears of my mother, my aunts and uncles. As a child, I did not yet understand at the time the cause of this outburst of emotion. Since that day, whenever I hear this magnificent song, tears come to my eyes. This memory is imbued in me like a scene from a film and, I understand now, of what was a great moment of happiness for the family finally reunited. Ferland’s song replaced all the unspoken words.
Isabelle Girard
Leave to leave
At the end of my university education, I was back with my parents and I was not very enthusiastic about the situation. One morning, switching the CD player to random, the room Deep down the sun leads to the sun started playing: Going somewhere to leave/Not to run away. Ferland invited me to hit the road and that’s what I did. The next day, I was thumbing along the 138, which would take me across Canada for months. The sun leads to the sun/And life expands for all that.
Sébastien Murray
A memorable evening
During the show Sun, we were a group of friends on stage and we were humming all the songs that Mr. Ferland sang during the first part of his show. When he started the second part of the show, he sang his songs facing us and with his back to the audience at Place des Arts. We sang with him during his entire second part. We all had chills. A memorable evening.
Jean Demers
Sing beauty
In March 1994, at the age of 40, I met the man of my life. Her beautiful song You are beautiful often played on the radio and when I heard her sing, it was as if my new lover was singing it to me… I have never felt so beautiful!
Carole Pigeon
Songs that transport…
Don’t listen to that. This song played at my house from the summer of 2000 until our wedding in May 2001. When the chorus started (I would like us to get married), I turned up the volume and sang it to my boyfriend. After 18 years of living together, our children heard me and found that… I don’t know what they thought of it, but it transported me. Say yes ! Say yes ! This wedding was a magnificent day. The song that opened the dance? A chance we have, obviously ! Thank you, Jean-Pierre Ferland, for all the magnificent songs for the 30-, 40-year-old woman that I was. I found myself more beautiful, more interesting when I listened to you sing.
Martine Villeneuve
…until easier times
Following a relationship and a very painful separation, my daughter and I found ourselves in a small, dingy apartment, penniless. The fragile raft on which we sailed brought us many difficulties, but in times of great discouragement we always sang this song. It allowed us to remember that there were two of us, that we could always count on each other and that we would get through this in the end. A chance we have will have allowed us to put things into perspective and will have carried us to easier times. This song will always have great meaning for my daughter and me.
Line Sanscartier
Lucky to have each other
Since his debut, his songs have inhabited every hour of my life. The first few allowed me to train my ear and my voice by singing in harmony with my mother. When YELLOW came out, I obsessively rehearsed the singers’ parts to the point where, 30 years later, during one of JP’s performances, I sang alone in the room: Hey, gumball, have you become a man? “Here’s one that’s practiced!” », he immediately exclaimed! Finally, at the age of 17, I met a handsome young man who made my heart break forever when he introduced himself: “Ferland, like Jean-Pierre!” » Even today, we tell ourselves that we are very lucky to have each other and to know the evenings of old age where we rock our old love.
Julie Cauchy
By heart
On April 11, my lover had a stroke in the Magdalen Islands. She was urgently transferred to Quebec and, for my part, I put an end to a trip to Guadeloupe and Dominica. His stroke had caused aphasia. Her condition improved, but she was more tired in the evening. On the evening of the 15th, she asked me to play her a song by an “old Quebec singer”! Gilles Vigneault? Felix Leclerc? After some research, I show him a photo of Jean-Pierre Ferland; she nods yes. Now which one? The little king ? She nods, a smile on her lips. I played it for her and she practically sang the song by heart! This was our last shared song. Sophie suffered a brain hemorrhage the next morning and died on April 18.
François Menard
Last moments
For me it’s the song A chance we have which fills the hospital room where my father is a few hours away from taking his last breath… 10 years ago already. The image of his partner lying at his side spooning for one last time while their favorite song plays has remained engraved in my heart ever since…
François Leblanc
reference: www.lapresse.ca