Mr. Charles Dickens, Mr. Claude Léveillée, and… Donald Duck: three giants of literature, music, and Walt Disney!

Bravo and thanks to all the inspirational, real and fictional, characters in history!

Each day, around the world, so many people die and so many others are born.

Like today, June 9 but in 1870, eternally famous English writer and social critic Mr. Charles Dickens died (https://t.ly/tJ_Z).

Similarly, on this same day of June 9, but in 2011, Canadian singer, pianist, and actor Claude Léveillée died in Québec in Saint-Benoit-de-Mirabel. Of note, he was born on October 16, 1932 in Montréal [interestingly, one of Bambi’s nephews was also on the same day and in the same city. “Coucou” Nicolas :)].

To honour the three characters feautured in this post, Bambi will first start with some of Dickens’ inspirational quotes. The last one tells us how much this author appreciated humour and laughter, which will bring us straight to a little musical tribute to the uniquely cute Mr. Donald Duck. Guess why? Well, he happens to have been born on June 9, precisely 89 years ago (https://t.ly/da9o). Happy Birthday to him! Last but not least, this post will end by sharing two of Léveillée’s songs. The first one is called “Mon Pays” [My Country] and it is subtitled in English. The second one is a superb love song called Frédéric followed by an English translation of its lyrics (https://t.ly/76nHm).

Have a lovely June 9 (or evening) everyone!

Charles Dickens

“The most important thing in life is to stop saying, ‘I wish’ and start saying, ‘I will’. Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities”.

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year”.

“There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts”.

The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again”.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. 

“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope -into a better shape”.

“Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts”.

“I cannot stop some dreadful things I try to stop, but I go on in the hope and trust that the time will come.”

“The kindness of people is enough to break one’s heart”.

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour”.

Donald Duck

Claude Léveillée

Frédéric (by Mr. Claude Léveillée)

I put the whole world aside

When Frédéric reminds me of

The loves of our twenties

Our sorrows, our home

Without forgetting

Neighbourhood friends

Today scattered to the four winds

We weren’t poets

Neither priests nor naughty

But daddy loved us

Do you remember, on Sunday

Around the table

There was laughing, there was discussing

While mom was serving us

But afterwards, afterwards

Afterwards, life ate you up

How it eats up everyone

Today or later

And I followed

Since the time we dreamed

To leave the old furniture

Since the time we dreamed

To meet up alone

You forgot Chopin

I did my best

Today you drink wine

It’s more serious

Father is getting old

And all that, it’s old

I put the whole world aside

When Frédéric reminds me of

The loves of our twenties

Our sorrows, our home

Without forgetting

Neighbourhood friends

Today scattered to the four winds

We weren’t poets

Neither priests nor naughty

But daddy loved us

Do you remember, on Sunday

Around the table

There was laughing, there was discussing

While mom was serving us

But afterwards, afterwars, you know what

Afterwards, it was the party

The most beautiful of celebrations

The party of lovers

It lasted but one spring

And then autumn came

This autumn of life

Farewell, beautiful Harlequin!

You see that you have been lied to

Fallen our castles

Farewell our moonlights

After all, it takes what it takes

To carve one

A life of good living

A life without arguments

I put the whole world aside

When Frédéric reminds me of

The loves of our twenties

Our sorrows, our home

Without forgetting

Neighbourhood friends

Today scattered to the four winds

We weren’t poets

Neither priests nor naughty

But daddy loved us

Do you remember, on Sunday

Around the table

There was laughing, there was discussing

While mom was serving us

Do you remember, Frédéric?

Cheers“!

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