La vache qui pleure is a 2003 album by Kate and Anna McGarrigle

Kate and Anna McGarrigle

Kate and Anna McGarrigle, were a pair of Canadian singer-songwriters from Quebec, who performed as a duo until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010.-Profile:...

. It is the sisters' second full album of French language

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...

 songs, following 1980's Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse

Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse

Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse is a 1980 album by Kate and Anna McGarrigle. The album is also known by the title French Record.The album title is a pun. Lajeunesse is a street name in Montreal, Quebec, but the title can also mean "between youth and wisdom".It is considered by many fans, even those...

. (Many of the sisters' other albums include one or two French songs as well.)

The album does include one English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 song "Sunflower" which is a setting of William Blake

William Blake

William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...

's poem "Ah! Sunflower". The same song is performed with French lyrics ("Ah tournesol") that are a straight translation of the original. Blake's poem is not acknowledged in the credits for either song.

The album title, which means "The Cow That Cries", is a pun

Pun

The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...

 on La vache qui rit

The Laughing Cow

The Laughing Cow is a brand of cheese products made by Fromageries Bel, and in particular refers to the brand's most popular product, the spreadable wedge.-The product:...

, the name of a brand of French cheese.

Guest musicians on the album include Joel Zifkin

Joel Zifkin

Joel Zifkin is a Canadian musician and songwriter born in Montreal on April 14, 1954. He is best known as a session and live musician for artists such as Kate and Anna McGarrigle and Richard Thompson...

, Lily Lanken

Lily Lanken

Lily Lanken is a Canadian pop vocalist.Born in Montreal, she is the daughter of Anna McGarrigle and Dane Lanken. She graduated in 2006 from Concordia University with a bachelor's degree in fine arts...

 (Anna's daughter), and Martha Wainwright

Martha Wainwright

Martha Wainwright is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle...

 (Kate's daughter).

Track listing

All songs by Kate and Anna McGarrigle and Philippe Tatartcheff

Philippe Tatartcheff

Philippe Tatartcheff is a Canadian poet and songwriter who grew up in Timmins, Ontario. His father, Dr. Michael Tatartcheff, was a physician and surgeon in Timmins, and his grandfather, Dr. Assen Tatartcheff, was a member of the Macedonian Liberation Front IMRE...

, except where noted.

1. "Petite annonce amoureuse" – 3:58
2. "Ah tournesol" – 2:58
3. "Le bambocheur" (Kate) – 2:22
4. "Hurle le vent" – 3:22
5. "La Vache qui pleure" – 4:08
6. "Rose blanche" (Kate/Tatartcheff/Bruant) – 4:52
7. "Tant le monde" – 3:35
8. "Dans le silence" – 3:32
9. "Ce matin" – 4:43
10. "Petites boites" (translation of "Little Boxes" by Graeme Allwright
    Graeme Allwright
    Graeme Allwright is a singer-songwriter. Born in Wellington, New Zealand, he moved to France in 1948. He began to perform and write folk songs a few years later and was eventually signed by Sonogram. In the 1960s, he translated into French a number of songs written by Leonard Cohen, Tom...
    
    /Malvina Reynolds
    Malvina Reynolds
    Malvina Reynolds was an American folk/blues singer-songwriter and political activist, best known for her song-writing, particularly the songs "Little Boxes" and "Morningtown Ride".-Early life:...
    
    ) – 3:36
11. "Sunflower" (Kate/Anna) – 3:25