Throwback: Robert Charlebois’ “Je reviendrai à Montréal”

Je reviendrai à Montréal
Dans un grand Bœing bleu de mer
J’ai besoin de revoir l’hiver
Et ses aurores boréales

J’ai besoin de cette lumière
Descendue droit du Labrador
Et qui fait neiger sur l’hiver
Des roses bleues, des roses d’or

Dans le silence de l’hiver
Je veux revoir ce lac étrange
Entre le crystal et le verre
Où viennent se poser des anges

Je reviendrai à Montréal
Ecouter le vent de la mer
Se briser comme un grand cheval
Sur les remparts blancs de l’hiver

Je veux revoir le long désert
Des rues qui n’en finissent pas
Qui vont jusqu’au bout de l’hiver
Sans qu’il y ait trace de pas

J’ai besoin de sentir le froid
Mourir au fond de chaque pierre
Et rejaillir au bord des toits
Comme des glaçons de bonbons clairs

– Robert Charlebois’ “Je reviendrai à Montréal”

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I will return to Montreal
In a great sea-blue Boeing
I need to see winter again
And its northern lights

I need that light
Descending straight from Labrador
And making blue roses, golden roses
Fall like snow upon the winter

In the silence of winter
I want to see that strange lake again
Somewhere between crystal and glass
Where angels come to land

I will return to Montreal
To hear the sea wind
Break like a mighty horse
Against the white ramparts of winter

I want to see the long wilderness
Of streets that never end
Stretching to the edge of winter
Without a single footprint

I need to feel the cold
Die deep within every stone
And spring up again at the eaves
Like icicles of clear candy

In my travels, there have been a handful of places that on a deep, seemingly atomic level have just felt like home: Philadelphia, Chicago, Amsterdam, Montréal. All of them, places that have treated me with profound, heartwarming kindness.

Right now, I’m back in Montréal, one of my favorite cities in the world. Sadly, I’m really only in town for what’s essentially a layover before heading to Rouyn-Noranda in the morning for the 24th FME. But for now, my heart sings. . . .

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