Their songs have for years denounced the degradation of the world through the climate and biodiversity crises, but Les Cowboys Fringants have not only deplored the decline of life on Earth. Above all, since the start of their careers, they have chosen to take concrete actions in favor of environmental protection which are today praised and cited as examples.
“The environmental vision of Cowboys Fringants and Karl Tremblay has always been anchored in action, but also in their songs,” summarizes Anthony Côté-Leduc, from Équiterre.
“They managed to do three things: develop a political and environmental discourse, communicate it effectively and, ultimately, manage to reach people with this discourse. They have always known how to transmit powerful and radical messages while achieving popular unanimity, speaking to the world with their heads and their hearts. It’s a tour de force,” he adds, citing as examples the pieces The cave, America cries, 8 seconds or Nothing.
“But I only saw a desolate planet / lunar landscapes and suffocating heat / and all my friends dying of thirst or hunger / like flies dropping, until there was nothing left », sang Karl Tremblay in Nothinga play which interweaves climate crisis and biodiversity crisis while criticizing the headlong rush that is infinite growth in the name of the enrichment of a minority.
“They have always been connected to reality, never complacent, and they have never taken detours to tell the story of modern Quebec,” underlines Anthony Côté-Leduc. The group has also taken a position on certain controversial issues, for example by opposing the LNG Quebec natural gas export megaproject.
Their music and their commitment have also contributed to the awakening of environmental awareness, underlines the general director of Nature Québec, Alice-Anne Simard. “Karl and Les Cowboys Fringants have really contributed to raising awareness among Quebecers, and particularly our generation, about environmental causes. We think about the issues of forests and the climate, with songs like The company guy And Nothing. In fact, many people who are involved with Nature Québec today probably do so in part thanks to the Cowboys. »
“Karl’s beautifully sung messages aimed at protecting our Earth, its resources and the beings who live on it have certainly contributed to me [mener] where I am today,” adds Stéphanie Harnois, communications and public affairs specialist at the David Suzuki Foundation.
Professor in the Department of Strategy, Social and Environmental Responsibility at the University of Quebec in Montreal, Corinne Gendron is not surprised by this influence of the group. “Song helps open the eyes of citizens and is an important awareness-raising tool which is very different from natural voices, for example the media. As we find ourselves in the register of emotion, we can touch people who would not be touched otherwise. »
“Liking music can lead us to listen more to the lyrics and become aware of things that were not part of our knowledge or environment,” she adds.
Concrete gestures
Beyond their musical work, Les Cowboys Fringants have multiplied concrete actions for the environment in order to move from words to action. “Music gives us great scope. People can be affected. But if there was no scope, if there were just words, we would find that it is not concrete enough,” rightly underlined the violinist of the group, Marie-Annick Lépine, in an interview with Duty in 2015.
They therefore set up, in 2006, a foundation whose funds are used solely for initiatives aimed at raising awareness and protecting the environment. They also financed tree plantings, in particular to offset the greenhouse gas emissions from their tours, in addition to inviting other artists to act for the climate by contributing to the planting of trees in Quebec.
The Cowboys Fringants also succeeded, with the help of their audience, in raising the funds necessary to “adopt” a St. Lawrence beluga, an initiative of the Marine Mammal Research and Education Group which funds research on this endangered species. The beluga in question was named “Hector”, recalls the Group’s president and scientific director, Robert Michaud, saluting the group’s commitment to the protection of the St. Lawrence.
Anthony Côté-Leduc would now like this path traced by Les Cowboys Fringants to spread more widely. “If we were more inspired by their ideals and were more politically coherent, we could build a future closer to what we collectively want, as much as we collectively like their songs. »