Now they say they didn't mean it

Quebec folk-rock band Mes Aïeux wants LifeSite to take down its article, which describes their song "Dégénération" as anti-abortion. The group says that the song was "misinterpreted" and that referring to the song as one denouncing abortion without consulting the group is "moral kidnapping of the song". Well, let the words speak for themselves:

Ton arrière-arrière-grand-mère, elle a eu quatorze enfants
Ton arrière-grand-mère en a eu quasiment autant
Et pis ta grand-mère en a eu trois c'tait suffisant
Pis ta mère en voulais pas, toi t'étais un accident

Et pis toi, ma p'tite fille tu changes de partenaire tout l'temps
Quand tu fais des conneries, tu t'en sauves en avortant
Mais y'a des matins, tu te réveilles en pleurant
Quand tu rêves la nuit d'une grande table entourée d'enfants

Translated to English:

Your great-great-grandmother had 14 children
Your great-grandmother had almost as many
Your grandmother had 3, that was enough
And your mother didn't want any, you were an accident

And you, my little girl, you change partners all the time,
If you make stupid mistakes, you fix them by aborting
But there are mornings when you wake up crying
When you dream at night of a big table surrounded by children.

Reading a text like that it's hard to disagree with LifeSite, that the song laments abortion and the modern culture of sterility. By the way, LifeSite never referred to Mes Aïeux as a pro-life group. The group by itself may be pro-abortion but their song clearly refers to abortion as a traumatizing mistake for a woman.

How could that happen? I can only guess. Maybe the guy in charge of the lyrics asked his pro-life friend to do the job for him or maybe he simply didn't realize that his words could be read differently by someone who doesn't share his views on abortion. Either way, the group which, in their letter to LifeSite, describes itself as pro-abortion, came up with a song that denounces some of their beliefs.

Even if the authors didn't really mean it, comparing simple, yet fruitful lifestyle of the great-grandparents to the stress and sterility of the modern life by no means shows the modern life on the winning side. The song ended up showing how life becomes empty and unnatural when it is severed from one’s land and heritage. So I won't be surprised if "Dégénération" becomes sort of an anthem for the pro-life movement. And next time there's a big Social Conservative gathering in Quebec, there could be many people singing:

Ton arrière-arrière-grand-père, il a défriché la terre...