Complainte pour Ste. Catherine
Complainte pour Ste. Catherine is a song by Canadians Philippe Tatartcheff and Anna McGarrigle. It began as the B-side to the 1974 single Hommage à Henri Richard, tied to the Montreal Canadiens’ playoff push. After the team lost to the New York Rangers, the single didn’t sell well, so the song was later added to Kate & Anna McGarrigle’s debut album (1975), where it became a hit.
The lyrics are playful and a bit political, spoken in the voice of a poor girl hanging around Sainte-Catherine Street in Montreal. In winter she and her friends seek warmth from the metro tunnel vents; in summer they battle mosquitoes. The tune is a mournful, Piaf-like melody, and the strong harmonies soften the sharp, witty words.
The song has been covered many times in different languages. Kirsty MacColl included a French version as a bonus track on her 1989 album Kite. Anne-Grete recorded a Danish version in 1980 titled Vintertur på strøget. In Swedish, Ola Magnell wrote new lyrics as Ingen kommer undan politiken, and Marie Bergman recorded it in 1977; Marie Fredriksson later recorded it in 2006 on Min bäste vän, releasing it as a digital single on July 25, 2006 (the second single from the album). A promotional CD was also issued. Marie Fredriksson has said she loved the Kate & Anna McGarrigle version and was inspired by their singing.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:39 (CET).