2025 Competition Entry:

Para Vivir by Aaron Pollard

Genre

Folk

Artist

Co-writer(s)

no

Performer(s)

Aaron Pollard: Voice and Ukulele
Stephen Lawson: Keyboards and Melodica

Description

In French and Spanish, the verb, to be able is the same as the noun, power. When I wrote this song I was thinking a lot about the movement of people in the world, basic human rights and feelings of helplessness as an individual. So the use of the verb “pouvoir” (fr) or “poder” (sp) carries a particular significance in composing this song. You could say that the song is a meditation on the relationship between individual agency and institutional power. The lyrics are at once plaintive and somewhat fatalistic but also a little bit humorous and self-deprecating. My intent with the melody and instrumentation is to invoke a cabaret spirit.

The following is an English translation:

The Right to Live

There are those who can say life is pleasure day to day
But for the majority it’s misery, you see

The right to live
The will to eat
The will to live,
The right to object

The right to live,
The will to control
The will to live
The right to leave

That’s how it goes, my friend
That’s life, as they say
From cradle to the grave in one single day

The will to live
In order to bloom
The will to laugh
To face the doom

The will to live
The right to vote
The right to elect
The right to regret

Me, I’m poor
I am gay
I am drunk
I cry everyday

Bio

A Montreal-based performance and video artist, Aaron has created and presented video, performances and installations to Canadian and International audiences since the early 1990s. He maintains a wide-ranging, cross-disciplinary practice including writing, creating, performing, teaching and curating. Aaron’s longstanding preoccupations include narrative form, time-based art, story-telling, intersectional feminism and the discursive power of landscape. He is a graduate of the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (Media Division) and he obtained an MFA in Studio Arts (Open Media) from Concordia University. Throughout the years, Aaron has assisted colleagues deploy video and electronic media within their creative pursuits, including artists such as Ila Firouzabadi, Tammy Forsythe, Eman Haram, Shari Hatt, Diane Landry, Payam Mofidi, Chantal Neveu, Cheryl Simon and Laurel Woodcock. He has created video projections for various stage projects by Les Filles Électriques, Linda Bouchard, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Esmeralda Enrique, and The Scandelles. Since 2001, Aaron has collaborated with Montreal artist, Stephen Lawson on multi-media performances, video and installation works that have toured nationally and abroad.

Lyrics

Pouvoir vivre (Para vivir)

[Verse 1]
B♭ dim C B♭ dim C
Il y en a qui peut dire Hay quienes han vivido
Fm Fm
Qu’ils ont vécu du plaisir Una vida de placer
B♭m C7 B♭m C7
Mais pour la majorité Pero para la mayoría
Fm Fm
C”est la misère tu sais Es la miseria

C, C7, Fm, B♭m, C7, Fm C, C7, Fm, B♭m, C7, Fm
Yah…. Yah…

[Chorus]
Fm Fm
Pouvoir vivre Para vivir
B♭m B♭m
Pouvoir manger Poder comer
C7 C7
Pouvoir vivre Para vivir
Fm Fm
Pouvoir contester Para desafiar
Fm Fm
Pouvoir vivre Para vivir
B♭m B♭m
Pouvoir controller Poder controlar
C7 C7
Pouvoir vivre Para vivir
Fm, B♭ dim Fm, B♭ dim
Pouvoir se déplacer Poderse mover

[Verse 2]
C C
C’est la vie, mon ami Es así, la vida
Fm Fm
C’est comme ça, on dirait Parece que así es
B♭m C7 B♭m C7
La naissance à la mort Naces y mueres
Fm Fm
Dans une seule journée En cada amanecer

B♭m, C, Fm, B♭m, C7, Fm B♭m, C, Fm, B♭m, C7, Fm
Yah… Yah…

[Chorus]
Fm Fm
Pouvoir vivre Para vivir
B♭m B♭m
Pouvoir accumuler Para florecer
C7 C7
Pouvoir vivre Para vivir
Fm Fm
Pouvoir rigoler Reír sin temer

[Bridge]
B♭m, Fm, C, C7, Fm B♭m, Fm, C, C7, Fm
Yah… Yah…

[Chorus]
Fm Fm
Pouvoir vivre Para vivir
B♭m B♭m
Pouvoir voter Poder opinar
C7 C7
Pouvoir élir Para elegir
Fm Fm
Pouvoir pleurer Poder llorar
Fm Fm
Je suis pauvre Yo soy pobre
B♭m B♭m
Je suis gai Yo soy gay
C7 C7
Je suis ivre Estoy borracho
Fm Fm
Je suis désolée Y triste

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