La Marseillaise
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| English: The Song of Marseille | |
|---|---|
 Rouget de Lisle, composer of the Marseillaise, sings it for the first time at the home of Dietrich, Mayor of Strasbourg (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg, published 1849, artist Isidore Pils) | |
| National anthem of |  France |
| Lyrics | Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, 1792 |
| Music | Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, 1792 |
| Adopted | 1795 |
| Music sample | |
"La Marseillaise" ("[The Song] of Marseille"; French pronunciation: [la maʁsɛˈjɛz]) is the national anthem of France. It was written and composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
Contents |
[edit] History
Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle wrote "La Marseillaise" in Strasbourg on April 25, 1792. Its original name was "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" ("War Song for the Army of the Rhine") and it was dedicated to Marshal Nicolas Luckner, a Bavarian-born French officer from Cham. It became the rallying call of the French Revolution and received its name because it was first sung on the streets by volunteers (fédérés) from Marseille upon their arrival in Paris after a young volunteer from Montpellier called François Mireur had sung it at a patriotic gathering in Marseille. A newly graduated medical doctor, Mireur later became a general under Napoleon Bonaparte and died in Egypt at 28.
The song's lyrics reflect the invasion of France by foreign armies (from Prussia and Austria) which was ongoing when it was written; Strasbourg itself was attacked just a few days later. The invading forces were repulsed from France following their defeat in the Battle of Valmy.
"La Marseillaise" was screamed during the levée en masse and met with huge success[citation needed].
The Convention accepted it as the French national anthem in a decree passed on July 14, 1795, but it was then banned successively by Napoleon I, Louis XVIII, and Napoleon III, only being reinstated briefly after the July Revolution of 1830.[1] During Napoleon I's reign Veillons au Salut de l'Empire was the unofficial anthem of the regime and during Napoleon III's reign Partant pour la Syrie. In 1879, "La Marseillaise" was restored as the country's national anthem, and has remained so ever since.
[edit] Arrangements
During the French Revolution, Giuseppe Cambini published Patriotic Airs for Two Violins, in which the song is quoted literally and as a variation theme, with other patriotic songs.
"La Marseillaise" was arranged for soprano, chorus and orchestra by Hector Berlioz in about 1830.
Robert Schumann, while setting some Heinrich Heine poems to music, used part of La Marseillaise for his setting (Op. 49, No. 1) of Heinrich Heine's poem "Die Beiden Grenadiere". The quotation appears at the end of the song when the old French soldier dies. Schumann also incorporated the Marseillaise as a major motif in his overture, 'Hermann und Dorothea' inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and quotes it in waltz rhythm in the first movement of Faschingsschwank aus Wien, for solo piano. Richard Wagner also quotes from La Marseillaise in his setting of a French translation of Heine's poem.
Rossini quotes "La Marseillaise" in the second act of Semiramide.
Franz Liszt wrote a piano transcription of the anthem.
In 1882, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky used extensive notes from La Marseillaise to represent the invading French army in his 1812 Overture.
During World War I, bandleader James Reese Europe played a jazz version of La Marseillaise, which can be heard on Part 2 of the Ken Burns TV documentary Jazz.
Edward Elgar quoted the opening of La Marseillaise in his choral work The Music Makers, based on Arthur O'Shaughnessy's Ode, at the line "We fashion an empire's glory", where he also quotes the opening phrase of Rule, Britannia!.
Serge Gainsbourg recorded a reggae version in 1978.
Henrik Wergeland wrote a Norwegian version of the song in 1831, called The Norwegian Marseillaise.
Both in Peru and Chile the Partido Aprista Peruano and the Socialist Party of Chile wrote their own versions of the Marseillaise to be their anthems.
[edit] Lyrics
Only the first verse (and sometimes the fifth and sixth) and the first chorus are sung today in France. There are some slight historical variations in the lyrics of the song; the following is the version listed at official website of the French Presidency.[2]
- FP National anthem (MP3 audio file).
| La Marseillaise | |
| Allons enfants de la Patrie, | Come, children of the Fatherland (Homeland), |
| Le jour de gloire est arrivé ! | The day of glory has arrived! |
| Contre nous de la tyrannie | Against us, Tyranny's |
| L'étendard sanglant est levé, (bis) | Bloody banner is raised, (repeat) |
| Entendez-vous dans les campagnes | Do you hear in the countryside |
| Mugir ces féroces soldats ? | Those ferocious soldiers roaring? |
| Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras | They come up to our arms |
| Égorger nos fils, nos compagnes ! | To slit the throats of our sons and wives! |
| Aux armes, citoyens, | To arms, citizens, |
| Formez vos bataillons, | Form your battalions, |
| Marchons, marchons ! | Let's march, let's march! |
| Qu'un sang impur | May an impure blood |
| Abreuve nos sillons ! | Water our furrows! |
| Que veut cette horde d'esclaves, | What does this horde of slaves, |
| De traîtres, de rois conjurés ? | Of traitors and conjured kings want? |
| Pour qui ces ignobles entraves, | For whom are these ignoble trammels, |
| Ces fers dès longtemps préparés ? (bis) | These long-prepared irons? (repeat) |
| Français, pour nous, ah ! quel outrage | Frenchmen, for us, ah! What outrage |
| Quels transports il doit exciter ! | What fury it must arouse! |
| C'est nous qu'on ose méditer | It is we whom they dare plan |
| De rendre à l'antique esclavage ! | To return to ancient slavery! |
| Aux armes, citoyens... | To arms, citizens... |
| Quoi ! des cohortes étrangères | What! Foreign cohorts |
| Feraient la loi dans nos foyers ! | Would make law in our homes! |
| Quoi ! ces phalanges mercenaires | What! These mercenary phalanxes |
| Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers ! (bis) | Would strike down our proud warriors! (repeat) |
| Grand Dieu ! par des mains enchaînées | Great God ! By chained hands |
| Nos fronts sous le joug se ploieraient | Our heads would bow under the yoke |
| De vils despotes deviendraient | Vile despots would become |
| Les maîtres de nos destinées ! | The masters of our destinies! |
| Aux armes, citoyens... | To arms, citizens... |
| Tremblez, tyrans et vous perfides | Tremble, tyrants and you traitors |
| L'opprobre de tous les partis, | The shame of all parties, |
| Tremblez ! vos projets parricides | Tremble! Your parricidal schemes |
| Vont enfin recevoir leurs prix ! (bis) | Will finally receive their prizes! (repeat) |
| Tout est soldat pour vous combattre, | Everyone is a soldier to combat you |
| S'ils tombent, nos jeunes héros, | If they fall, our young heroes, |
| La terre en produit de nouveaux, | The earth produces new ones, |
| Contre vous tout prêts à se battre ! | Against you, all ready to fight! |
| Aux armes, citoyens... | To arms, citizens... |
| Français, en guerriers magnanimes, | Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors, |
| Portez ou retenez vos coups ! | Bear or hold back your blows! |
| Épargnez ces tristes victimes, | Spare these sorry victims, |
| À regret s'armant contre nous. (bis) | Arming against us with regrets. (repeat) |
| Mais ces despotes sanguinaires, | But these bloodthirsty despots, |
| Mais ces complices de Bouillé, | But these accomplices of Bouillé, |
| Tous ces tigres qui, sans pitié, | All these tigers who, mercilessly, |
| Déchirent le sein de leur mère ! | Rip their mother's breast! |
| Aux armes, citoyens... | To arms, citizens... |
| Amour sacré de la Patrie, | Sacred love of the Fatherland, |
| Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs | Lead, support our avenging arms |
| Liberté, Liberté chérie, | Liberty, cherished Liberty, |
| Combats avec tes défenseurs ! (bis) | Fight with thy defenders! (repeat) |
| Sous nos drapeaux que la victoire | Under our flags, victory shall |
| Accoure à tes mâles accents, | Hurry to thy manly accents, |
| Que tes ennemis expirants | Thy expiring enemies shall, |
| Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire ! | See thy triumph and our glory! |
| Aux armes, citoyens... | To arms, citizens... |
| (Couplet des enfants) | (Children's Verse) |
| Nous entrerons dans la carrière[3] | We shall enter in the (military) career |
| Quand nos aînés n'y seront plus, | When our elders are no longer there, |
| Nous y trouverons leur poussière | There we shall find their dust |
| Et la trace de leurs vertus (bis) | And the trace of their virtues (repeat) |
| Bien moins jaloux de leur survivre | Much less jealous to survive them |
| Que de partager leur cercueil, | Than to share their coffins, |
| Nous aurons le sublime orgueil | We shall have the sublime pride |
| De les venger ou de les suivre | Of avenging or following them |
| Aux armes, citoyens... | To arms, citizens... |
| English versification, public domain (source: Library of Congress) |
| Ye sons of France, awake to glory, |
| Hark, hark! what myriads bid you rise! |
| Your children, wives and white-haired grandsires. |
| Behold their tears and hear their cries! (repeat) |
| Shall hateful tyrants, mischiefs breeding, |
| With hireling hosts, a ruffian band, |
| Affright and desolate the land, |
| While peace and liberty lie bleeding? |
| To arms, to arms, ye brave! |
| The avenging sword unsheath, |
| March on, march on! |
| All hearts resolv'd |
| On victory or death! |
| Now, now, the dangerous storm is rolling |
| Which treacherous kings confederate raise! |
| The dogs of war, let loose, are howling, |
| And lo! our fields and cities blaze! (repeat) alt: And lo! our homes will soon invade! |
| And shall we basely view the ruin |
| While lawless force with guilty stride |
| Spreads desolation far and wide |
| With crimes and blood his hands embruing? |
| To arms, to arms, ye brave!... |
| With luxury and pride surrounded |
| The vile insatiate despots dare, |
| Their thirst of power and gold unbounded, |
| To mete and vend the light and air! (repeat) |
| Like beasts of burden would they load us, |
| Like gods would bid their slaves adore, |
| But man is man, and who is more? |
| Then shall they longer lash and goad us? |
| To arms, to arms, ye brave!... |
| O Liberty, can man resign thee |
| Once having felt thy generous flame? |
| Can dungeons, bolts or bars confine thee |
| Or whips thy noble spirit tame? (repeat) |
| Too long the world has wept, bewailing |
| That falsehood's dagger tyrants wield, |
| But freedom is our sword and shield, |
| And all their arts are unavailing. |
| To arms, to arms, ye brave!... |
[edit] Historical use in Russia
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In Russia, the Marseillaise was used as a republican revolutionary anthem by those who knew French starting in the 18th century, almost simultaneously with its adoption in France. In 1875 Peter Lavrov, a narodist revolutionary and theorist, wrote a Russian-language text (not a translation of the French one) to the same melody. This "Worker's Marseillaise" became one of the most popular revolutionary songs in Russia and was used in the Revolution of 1905. After the February Revolution of 1917, it was used as the semi-official national anthem of the new Russian republic. Even after the October Revolution, it remained in use for a while alongside The Internationale.[4]
[edit] In popular culture
[edit] Music
- Django Reinhardt, Échos de France
- The Beatles, as an introduction to All You Need Is Love
- The anarcho-punk band Crass used the main theme and other extracts in both unaltered form and variations in their song Bloody Revolutions.
- Thunderclap Newman incorporated the song into their 1969 single "Something in the Air".
- Edward Elgar, first notes appear in “With wonderful deathless ditties” of The Music Makers, Op. 69.
- Neil Hannon used the primary melody for The Divine Comedy's 1996 single Frog Princess
- Jimi Hendrix during an 1967 Paris concert, played a psychedelic version of the anthem. A video recording of the concert was immediately confiscated by the French government due to the perceived insult to national heritage.
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, repeating motif in 1812
- Frank Sinatra, as part of French Foreign Legion
- In 1978, Serge Gainsbourg recorded a reggae version, Aux armes et cætera, with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar and Rita Marley in the choir in Jamaica, which resulted in him being threatened by members of an association of former paratroopers, who wanted to prevent him from singing it in a public concert.
- The Slovenian industrial/techno music group Laibach’s album Volk features a version, with Laibach’s own lyrics. The album Volk (album) is entirely composed of songs which are based on various national anthems.
- Allan Sherman, You Went the Wrong Way, Old King Louie begins with a parody of the Marseillaise before heading into a recitative and then settling into a parody of You’ve Come a long Way from St. Louis. His version begins, “Louis the Sixteenth was the king of France in 1789 / He was worse than Louis the Fifteenth, he was worse than Louis the Fourteenth, he was worse than Louis the Thirteenth/He was the worst, since Louis the First!”)
- There are various versions of the music. Sheet music can be found at [1]. An official version from the website of the French President can be found at the wayback machine's archive here: Wave File (660 KB).
- The German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten use a piece of the Beatles' introduction to All You Need Is Love in their song Headcleaner I on the album Tabula Rasa which also contains lyrical references to the earlier mentioned Beatles song.
[edit] Miscellany
- La Marseillaise was famously used in Casablanca at the behest of Victor Laszlo to drown out a group of German soldiers singing Die Wacht am Rhein.
- The Brisbane Lions Australian rules football (AFL) team theme song "The Pride of Brisbane Town" is sung to the music of La Marseillaise.
- The carillon of the town hall in the Bavarian town of Cham plays "La Marseillaise" every day at 12.05 p.m. to commemorate the French Marshal Nicolas Luckner, who was born there.[5]
- Hong Kong singer Hacken Lee integrated the anthem as an opening to his World Cup 1998 theme song "The Strange Encounters of a Soccer Fan."
- An English language 'rugby song' version exists, as known in France among rugby fans.[6]
- In Monty Python's Broadway musical Spamalot when confronted by French knights in the song "Run Away!"
- The 19th-century Labour movement used a "Worker Marseillaise" (written 1864 by Jakob Audorf) that was later replaced by The Internationale. It was famously sung on the way to the gallows by those sentenced to death after the Haymarket Riot.
- The song's theme was used by Jacques Offenbach in his Opera "Orpheus in the Underworld" to illustrate a revolution amongst the Olympic gods and goddesses with the lines "Aux armes Dieux et Demi-Dieux".
- The British comedy series 'Allo 'Allo! spoofed Casablanca by having the patriotic French characters start singing "La Marseillaise", only to switch to Deutschlandlied when Nazi officers enter their cafe.
- Also featured in Isaac Asimov's short science fiction story Battle-hymn about how the national anthem is used as a subliminal advertising ploy.
- Featured in the Monty Python sketches, "A Man with a Tape Recorder up His Nose" and "A Man with a Tape Recorder up His Brother's Nose" and also "French Lecture on Sheep-aircraft"
- In the cartoon I Am Weasel, when the character I.R. Baboon tries to make a transatlantic bridge from the United States to France, he mistakenly builds it to Mexico. When he reaches the end, he sings a song with a similar tune.
- In the game Populous, when a map is played on the Française landscape it opens with the first ten or so seconds of La Marseillaise.
[edit] See also
- La Marseillaise des Blancs—the Royal and Catholic variation
- The "Dari Sabang Sampai Merauke", a patriotic song in Indonesia
- The "Belarusian Marseillaise", a patriotic song in Belarus
- The "Serbian Marseillaise" is a popular name for a Montenegrin patriotic song, There, o'er There!
- National anthem
[edit] References
- ^ Modern History Sourcebook: La Marseillaise, 1792
- ^ La Marseillaise, l’Elysée.
- ^ "la carrière" ("the career"), that is the military one. The seventh verse was not part of the original text; it was added in 1792 by an unknown author.
- ^ Соболева, Н.А. 2005. Из истории отечественных государственных гимнов. Журнал "Отечественная история", 1. P.10-12
- ^ Cham.de
- ^ Francerugby.fr
[edit] External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: La Marseillaise |
[edit] Official French government sites
[edit] Other sites
- Instrumental Version of the French National Anthem
- Mireille Mathieu sings La Marseillaise
- La Marseillaise performed by Roberto Alagna
- La Marseillaise - Iain Patterson's comprehensive fansite features sheet music, history, and music files. A full length six verse version of the anthem performed by David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra & Chorus can be found in the Berlioz page.
- Adminet-France
