Montreal singer-songwriter Florence K is the second artist to accept our CanadaSound challenge!

In celebration of Canada marking 150 years since Confederation, we’re asking Canadians in every corner of this country to submit their favourite Canadian sounds via video, audio or text, and tell us the story behind that sound.

Burlington, Ont., band Walk Off the Earth sampled all sorts of your submitted sounds in their brilliant cover of Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up.”

Now, renowned French-language artist Florence K brings us her original song for the CanadaSound project. She used the sounds of letters changing on flight boards at Montreal’s Mirabel airport (now inactive), the sound of an airplane taking off, the chirp of a marmot, and a Native American frame drum, to create a unique and catchy samba.

Inspired by time spent in Cuba but also a reflection of Canada’s diverse culture and music scene, the lyrics centre on a double entendre of the word “Mira”: for “Mirabel airport” and the Spanish “Mira,” meaning “to look.” In her song, Florence encourages us to grasp life in the moment, as time alone determines our fate. The chorus line, the Spanish sentence “mira lo que el tiempo hace” means “look at what time does.”

Listen to the English and French versions below!