"Gens du pays" has been called the unofficial national anthem of Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. Written by poet, songwriter, and avowed Quebec nationalist Gilles Vigneault

Gilles Vigneault

Gilles Vigneault, is a Canadian poet, publisher and singer-songwriter, and well-known Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist.A poet deeply rooted in his native Quebec, Vigneault has become an icon at home and Quebec ambassador abroad...

 (with music co-written by Gaston Rochon), it was first performed by Vigneault on June 24, 1975 during a concert on Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

's Mount Royal

Mount Royal

Mount Royal is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the city to which it gave its name.The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachians...

 at that year's Fête nationale du Québec ceremony. It quickly became a folk classic, and it has been played frequently at Fête nationale ceremonies since then. The chorus is by far the most famous part of the song: Gens du pays, c'est a votre tour / De vous laisser parler d'amour, which, translated, says, "Folks of the land, it is your turn to let yourselves talk of love."

The song is also associated with the Quebec sovereignty movement

Quebec sovereignty movement

The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...

 and the sovereigntist Parti Québécois

Parti Québécois

The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...

, which use it as a sort of anthem. A famous instance of this took place at René Lévesque

René Lévesque

René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...

's concession speech after the citizens of the province rejected independence in the 1980 Quebec referendum

1980 Quebec referendum

The 1980 Quebec referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois government, which strongly favoured secession from Canada...

. At the end of Lévesque's speech, the crowd assembled to hear him speak stood up at the end of the speech and sang "Gens du pays", which Lévesque called "the most beautiful Québécois song in the minds of all Quebecers."

Lyrics

Original French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...	Translation
Le temps qu'on a pris pour se dire «je t'aime» C'est le seul qui reste au bout de nos jours Les vœux que l'on fait, les fleurs que l'on sème Chacun les récolte en soi-même Aux beaux jardins du temps qui court	The time we took to tell each other "I love you" It's the only thing left at the end of our days The vows we make, the flowers we sow Each one of us harvests them in ourselves In the beautiful gardens of flowing time
{refrain} Gens du pays, c'est votre tour De vous laisser parler d'amour Gens du pays c'est votre tour De vous laisser parler d'amour	{refrain} People of the country, it's your turn To let yourselves talk about love People of the country, it's your turn To let yourselves talk about love
Le temps de s'aimer, le jour de le dire Fond comme la neige aux doigts du printemps Fêtons de nos joies, fêtons de nos rires Ces yeux où nos regards se mirent C'est demain que j'avais vingt ans	The time to love one another, the day to say it Melts like the snow in the fingers of spring Let us feast on our joys, let us feast on our laughter Those eyes where our gazes meet It's tomorrow that I was 20 years old
{refrain} Gens du pays, c'est votre tour De vous laisser parler d'amour Gens du pays c'est votre tour De vous laisser parler d'amour	{refrain} People of the country, it's your turn To let yourselves talk about love People of the country, it's your turn To let yourselves talk about love
Le ruisseau des jours aujourd'hui s'arrête Et forme un étang où chacun peut voir Comme en un miroir l'amour qu'il reflète Pour ces cœurs à qui je souhaite Le temps de vivre nos espoirs	The river of days stops today Forming a pond where each one can see Like in a mirror, the love it reflects For these hearts, for whom I wish The time to live our hopes
{refrain} Gens du pays, c'est votre tour De vous laisser parler d'amour Gens du pays c'est votre tour De vous laisser parler d'amour	{refrain} People of the country, it's your turn To let yourselves talk about love People of the country, it's your turn To let yourselves talk about love

Birthday adaptation

In Quebec, a modified version of the chorus is often sung to celebrate a person, for example on a birthday (in the specific case of the birthday, the idea was explicitly introduced by Gilles Vigneault in 1975):

Mon cher ami (or Ma chère amie), c'est à ton tour

De te laisser parler d'amour.

("My dear friend, it's your turn / To be spoken of love.")

Alternatively, "ami(e)" is replaced with the name of the person being celebrated.

For instance, at René Lévesque's funeral, mourners outside the church broke out singing "Mon cher René, c'est à ton tour, de te laisser parler d'amour"