La basse-ville [English translation]

I come from a back alley

Like people come from a village

From between metal sheds

And trash cans

From between the 8th and the 9th

The 2nd and the 3rd

The church and the school

My early childhood is there

When you’re from the Lower Town

You’re not from the Upper Town

Some remember it

And others don’t

But it’s back there that my dreams

Ring up each other

Those days when my phone goes dead

When I no longer expect anyone

Sunday afternoon

At the tobacconist across the street

"Can I have an ice cream cone?

Two scoops, please"

A yo-yo contest

While on the radio:

There goes a hat trick

By Mister Jean Béliveau

When you’re from the Lower Town

You’re not from the Upper Town

Some remember it

And others don’t

But it’s back there that my dreams

Ring up each other

Those days when my phone goes dead

When I no longer expect anyone

"’Tis the Month of Mary

’Tis the fairest of all..."

Dandelions grow

In the sidewalk cracks

My very first girlfriend and I

Play together later in the evening

We go around the block

On our bicycles in the dark

When you’re from the Lower Town

You’re not from the Upper Town

Some remember it

Others would rather not

But it’s back there that my dreams

Ring up each other

Those days when my phone goes dead

When I no longer expect anyone

• Artist:Sylvain Lelièvre