Raoul Duguay | The sum of everything

At almost 86 years old, Raôul Duguay publishes a retrospective of his song lyrics. An opportunity to talk with him about Kébek, the environment, peace & love and time passing. Without forgetting a certain song, which has become a beer brand…

“If I leave tomorrow, what will be left of me? »

On the other end of the line, Raôul Duguay is rather serious. During his long and original career, the singer has often accustomed us to beautiful delusions full of humor. But at almost 86 years old, the man has become more serious. He is at the time of taking stock and questions himself about his heritage.

It must be said that he has just published Touttt is in touttta retrospective book in which he looks back on his work, which inevitably fuels his questions.

Launched recently, this sum of 533 pages reproduces around 200 texts by the author, who takes the opportunity to tell parts of his life and evoke his most famous creations. The result offers a good overview of his almost 60-year career, which includes 17 albums, 19 books of poetry, 9 soundtracks, 8 pieces of music for multimedia shows and 3,333 molecules floating in the cosmos. Without forgetting the paintings, another part of his artistic production.

Also read “(Re)discover Raôul Duguay”

Unsurprisingly, the book begins with the story of I gave it to Tibihis biggest success, which in half a century has become an absolute classic of Quebec song.

Breaking the ice with this song says a lot. We have the impression that Raôul Duguay wanted to both honor him and settle his case before moving on to the rest of his repertoire. He doesn’t disagree. With this book, he wanted once and for all for us to understand that I gave it to Tibi is just the tip of the iceberg of his voluminous work.

Which doesn’t stop him from being 100% proud of this piece, especially with regard to its political content. Remember that the song ended with a “colonized country… to be liberated”, an unambiguous finale on its nationalist aspirations.

Long live the free Kebek

This country is of course Kébek — a word that he did not invent, he said, referring us to the Aboriginal people and to an inscription above the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church, at Quebec.

And on this level, Raôul Duguay claims not to have moved one iota. For him, a people is defined by its language and its culture, and he still does not understand, 70 years after his first awareness, that our province has not become a country “in its own right, with a seat in the United Nations.” “.

He believes so much in independence that in 2011 he even recorded a national anthem for Kébek, written to music by Alain Sauvageau, following a call for tenders from the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste . Out of 60 artists approached, he was the only one to raise his hand. The criticism had been brutal (he had been accused of being pompous, among other things) and he admits to having never really recovered from it.

“It’s an injury,” he said. I responded to a call from the nation. I seriously did it. One of two things, either I was a great fool to tackle this or I was a brave one. In any case, I gave the best of myself. »

What remains of the ideals

Injuries too, for this ardent defender of the environment, whose latest album, the excellent I’m thirsty (2010), was entirely devoted to issues related to water. He recognizes that these are bad times for ecologists. And is sorry that the link between nature and culture is “broken and in a very serious way”.

Same observation for the one who never stopped singing peace and love, dressed in rainbow costumes, at a time when we could still feed on the wildest hippie dreams, in a context of cons -culture and reinvention of the world.

Today, there is war everywhere. The ideals of the baby boom seem to have gone up in smoke. Did he and his people dream too big? Been naive? Utopian? On the contrary, he persists and signs. According to him, we need this discourse and artists to convey it more than ever.

“I am always naive in the sense that my role is to give wonder to the world,” he continues. As outdated as I may be, I continue to say that peace & love is the solution. Put peace in your heart and mind. Because today, it’s not easy to have peace in your heart. Especially if you look outside. »

This hostile world is not conducive to serenity. No more than age, of which Raôul says he feels the effects more and more marked. A bug here, a memory lapse there. He doesn’t hide it. But he knows how to counter this inevitable process – and the dark thoughts that go with it – using proven methods, which push back the deadline and “plogue” him directly on the big guy.

“The best way for me to have a clear and positive voice is still to meditate,” he says. Because the best solution to facing death is to return to the very principle of life, which is breathing. Everything that is alive breathes. 60 years ago, I understood that it is meditation that allows us to connect with the infinite and the eternal. And as I am a practically finite man at the age I am, what interests me is infinity…”

Beer and archives

And the song? Well. Raôul suggests that he may have turned off his microphone. His last show took place in 2022 in Saint-Armand. He doesn’t believe he will return to the stage. As for this album in preparation, he doesn’t really know anymore. The disc is “between two waters”, he says. Question of means, among others. He had remortgaged his house to I’m thirsty in 2010. He no longer has this luxury and finds that applying for subsidies is a cumbersome process, “patonnage”.

Ironic: he says he makes most of his money in royalties thanks to the beer “La bittt à Tibi”, which pays him to use the title of his greatest success.

Fortunately, its heritage is well treated. Recently, the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec in Rouyn-Noranda asked Raôul Duguay to entrust it with its archives. Enough to occupy the poet, who has just spent three months cleaning up his papers, with a view to making his donation.

“They want to digitize all that. I have 16 boxes! It’s going to take them a couple of years…”

Touttt is in touttt — The book of my life

Raoul Duguay

Éditions Sylvain Harvey

533 pages