If you haven’t seen the French film Joyeux Noël, which came out 19 years ago and was nominated for an Oscar, now’s a good time. It’s a fictionalized account of the First World War’s unofficial Christmas truce of 1914, when troops paused their fighting along parts of the Western Front and met in no-man’s land for short-lived good fellowship. French, British, Belgian and German soldiers participated.
There’s a Christmas Eve scene in the film in which Scots start singing in their trench, within earshot of the Germans. The tune, a Scottish carol written for the movie and titled “L’Hymne des Fraternisés/I’m Dreaming of Home,” touched a multitude of hearts. Two years later, it was sung when Queen Elizabeth II rededicated the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France. More than 15,000 visitors heard it, a crowd size not seen there since the memorial’s unveiling in 1936.
The ceremony marked the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, in which Canadians fought Germans on a hill a hundred miles north of Paris. By the end of those four days in April 1917, the Canadians had forced the enemy to pull back. Their success came at a cost of nearly 3,600 killed and some 7,000 wounded. For our neighbors to the north, the hard-won victory at Vimy Ridge remains a source of great pride.
The carol that helped commemorate the place on April 9, 2007, still resonates. A YouTube video of the performance has been viewed several hundred thousand times. Produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, it’s my favorite version of “I’m Dreaming of Home,” other than what’s in the film, so I’ve shared the link with friends over the years. My Australian pen pal Jennie observed: “The music is soothing. The expressions on the faces of the veterans suggest hard memories. And the singers and musicians look like they feel the sadness. It is a very moving tribute.”
Now, finally, I’m sharing the video here with you.
The soloist is Inuit singer Susan Aglukark, an Officer of the Order of Canada. With her is the Canadian Forces Band and the Confederation Centre of the Arts Youth Chorus from Charlottetown, capital of Prince Edward Island.
The song was composed by Philippe Rombi, with these lyrics by Lori Barth and Gary Lewis:
I hear the mountain birds
The sound of rivers singing
A song I’ve often heard
It flows through me now
So clear and so loud
I stand where I am
And forever I’m dreaming of home
I feel so alone, I’m dreaming of home
It’s carried in the air
The breeze of early morning
I see the land so fair
My heart opens wide
There’s sadness inside
I stand where I am
And forever I’m dreaming of home
I feel so alone, I’m dreaming of home
This is no foreign sky
I see no foreign light
But far away am I
From some peaceful land
I’m longing to stand
A hand in my hand …
Forever I’m dreaming of home
I feel so alone, I’m dreaming of home.
As the singing at the Vimy Memorial ends, a quartet of French Mirage jets thunders overhead.
Best wishes for the holidays and peace in the new year.
David Venditta 