After this brief intro, the youths begin "singing" the song lyrics. By "singing", the youths actually "talk" in a rhythmic/rappish/square-dance-ish manner, without any lyrical quality whatsoever. However, you can't say that the performers don't put their hearts into it. From the cute brunette to the creepy-looking guy, the singers are certainly enthusiastic, and shine despite their dumb lyrics.

We then hear the much-nicer chorus, the lyrical climax of the theme song. It's reminiscent of an Olympic ballad (or maybe, "We Are the World"), with dozens of performers singing passionately for the cause. Awwww.

After another ridiculous set of rap lyrics, we're now nearly at the end of the video. And, it's about darned time -- I'm starting to get sick. As the artists sing the final chorus, "Ensemble on est bien plus forts..." ("Together, we're much stronger"), we fade to a Québec rally, with Québec flags flying everywhere. With the climax, "Comme un peuple pacifique, Et souverain" (roughly, "Like a peaceful(*) people, and sovereign"), we see a Montréal cityscape, a few Québec landmarks (including the Chateau Frontenac) and more Québec flags. We observe a Québec demonstration, with citizens of all ages from all walks of life, and even more Québec flags. Gee, you think that they're trying to tell us something?

The video ends with the singers repeating, "Et souverain/ et souverain/ et souverain/ et souverain...", while we fade to a white background with "Un parti propre au Québec" ("A party unique to Québec", or, alternately, "A clean party in Québec", heehee).

The lyrics

If one was interested in singing along, a copy of the lyrics is available here (PDF file).

"But," one may ask, "what if I wanted to sing along, but can't get my eyes off those charming music stars???" No problem!! The Bloc has charitably displayed the lyrics as subtitles. So, if one was deranged enough to sing along during the video, don't worry!!!.

The lyrics are actually rather impressive -- they manage to be simultaneously very effective and very absurd. The dumb lyrics are in the "rap" part of the song:

Moi et toi et lui et nous / Et vous, oui tous ensemble nous pouvons / Construire et nous dire que nous savons / Grandir et être fiers / De nous quand nous sommes unis / Déterminés dans la vie / Ouverts de cœur et d’esprit / Maintenant / Ici

which translates to

Me and you and him and us / and you, yes all together we can / Build and tell ourselves that we know / how to grow and be proud / of ourselves when we're united / [and] determined in life / open in heart and spirit / Now / [and] here

Hrm. Well, maybe something got lost in translation. Nonetheless, even the translation is sappy and trite. And don't get me started on the phrase, "open in heart and spirit".

The chorus is much better, and reinforces the Bloc in the listener's mind:

Parce qu’on est différents
Nous, c’est le Bloc Québécois
Car le Bloc est différent
Car le Bloc, c’est notre choix

Because we're different
We are the Bloc Québécois
Since the Bloc is different
Since the Bloc is our choice

Sur la terre d’Amérique
Nous faisons notre chemin
Comme un peuple pacifique
Et sou-ver-ain / Et sou-ver-ain / Et sou-ver-ain / Et sou-ver-ain

On the land of America
We create our own path
Like a peaceful people
And sov-er-eign / And sov-er-eign / And sov-er-eign / And sov-er-eign...

The chorus is probably more tractable in French. And, the lyrics actually quite catchy, reinforcing the purpose of the Bloc ("because we're different") and the party's main goals. (You know, just in case we've forgotten.)

The impression

Well, after watching the video a couple of times, I can't get the darned song out of my head. Arghhhh! Thus, the song is effective becauase it has a certain "replay-ability" factor.

This is not a unique sentiment. The theme song has been available to the public for a couple of months now, and rabble.ca has a discussion on this very subject (including the quip, "On est différent, on chante comme William Hung..." Heh.) Because this may be "old news", I'm doubtful that the Bloc uses the theme song for anything substantial other than rallying up supporters.

Still, the idea of an "organizational theme song" raises an interesting question -- what is the purpose of such a song? Some songs are clearly marked as advertisements, with a specific focus on brand recognition (e.g. Coca-Cola's classic tune, I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony...). Other songs, however, are meant primarily for internal consumption. The BBC has an interesting article on the use of company songs in Japan, where company songs are used to reinforce team spirit. (The BBC's "company song" is also worth a listen.)

The Bloc deserves credit for introducing a creative campaign tactic in a sometimes-dull election. Even so, I don't believe that this is the first time that elections had theme songs. Indeed, if I recall correctly, Bryan Adams' "Can't Stop this Thing We Started" was used for a previous Mike Harris campaign. Ugh. Mike loses my vote for that decision alone.

Nonetheless, I would consider extending this concept to other parties. Perhaps this is the silver bullet to attract the youth vote!!! Imagine Mr. Layton serenading "Some Enchanted Evening", while discussing the future of seniors' care. Mr. Martin and his Liberal Ministers could play a rendition of the Beatles' "Help!".

And, to reinforce their increased defense spending, Mr. Harper and his Conservatives could dress up as the Village People!!! They'd sing, "In The Navy", of course! (In the Navy, in the Navy...) Now that would get my vote.

(Images and lyrics in this post are from the Bloc Québécois.)

(*) (Edit June 04: Mandos is correct, pacifique translates to "peaceful" instead of "pacifist". It's probably still better than my first translation, which described Quebecers as "Pacific" people, whatever that meant.)