FRENCH LYRICS

1. Allons enfants de la Patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !
Contre nous de la tyrannie,
L'étendard sanglant est levé ! 
L'étendard sanglant est levé ! 
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras
Egorger nos fils et nos compagnes !

CHORUS:
Aux armes, citoyens !
Formez vos bataillons !
Marchons ! marchons !
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons !

2. Que veut cette horde d'esclaves,
De traîtres, de rois conjurés ?
Pour qui ces ignobles entraves,
Ces fers dès longtemps préparés ? 
Ces fers dès longtemps préparés ? 
Français, pour nous, ah! quel outrage !
Quels transports il doit exciter !
C'est nous qu'on ose méditer
De rendre à l'antique esclavage !

3. Quoi ! ces cohortes étrangères
Feraient la loi dans nos foyers !
Quoi ! ces phalanges mercenaires
Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers ! 
Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers ! 
Grand Dieu ! par des mains enchaînées
Nos fronts sous le joug se ploieraient !
De vils despotes deviendraient
Les maîtres de nos destinées !

4. Tremblez, tyrans et vous perfides,
L'opprobre de tous les partis,
Tremblez ! vos projets parricides
Vont enfin recevoir leurs prix ! 
Vont enfin recevoir leurs prix ! 
Tout est soldat pour vous combattre,
S'ils tombent, nos jeunes héros,
La terre en produit de nouveaux,
Contre vous tout prêts à se battre !

5. Français, en guerriers magnanimes,
Portez ou retenez vos coups !
Epargnez ces tristes victimes,
A regret s'armant contre nous. 
A regret s'armant contre nous. 
Mais ces despotes sanguinaires,
Mais ces complices de Bouillé,
Tous ces tigres qui, sans pitié,
Déchirent le sein de leur mère !

6. Amour sacré de la Patrie,
Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs !
Liberté, Liberté chérie,
Combats avec tes défenseurs ! 
Combats avec tes défenseurs ! 
Sous nos drapeaux, que la victoire
Accoure à tes mâles accents !
Que tes ennemis expirants
Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire !

7. Nous entrerons dans la carrière
Quand nos aînés n'y seront plus; 
Nous y trouverons leur poussière
Et la trace de leurs vertus. 
Et la trace de leurs vertus. 
Bien moins jaloux de leur survivre
Que de partager leur cercueil,
Nous aurons le sublime orgueil
De les venger ou de les suivre !

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION

1. Arise children of the fatherland
The day of glory has arrived
Against us tyranny's
Bloody standard is raised
Listen to the sound in the fields
The howling of these fearsome soldiers
They are coming into our midst
To cut the throats of your sons and consorts
To arms citizens
Form you battalions
March, march
Let impure blood
Water our furrows

2. What do they want this horde of slaves
Of traitors and conspiratorial kings?
For whom these vile chains
These long-prepared irons?
Frenchmen, for us, ah! What outrage
What methods must be taken?
It is we they dare plan
To return to the old slavery!

3. What! These foreign cohorts!
They would make laws in our courts!
What! These mercenary phalanxes
Would cut down our warrior sons
Good Lord! By chained hands
Our brow would yield under the yoke
The vile despots would have themselves be
The masters of destiny

4. Tremble, tyrants and traitors
The shame of all good men
Tremble! Your parricidal schemes
Will receive their just reward
Against you we are all soldiers
If they fall, our young heros
France will bear new ones
Ready to join the fight against you

5. Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors
Bear or hold back your blows
Spare these sad victims
Who with regret are taking up arms against us
But not these bloody despots
These accomplices of Bouillé
All these tigers who pitilessly
Are ripping open their mothers' breasts

6. Sacred Love for the Fatherland
Lead and support our avenging arms
Liberty, cherished liberty
Join the struggle with your defenders
Under our flags, let victory
hasten to you virile (or manly) force
So that in death your enemies
See your triumph and our glory!

7. We shall enter into the pit
When our elders will no longer be there
There we shall find their ashes
And the mark of their virtues
We are much less jealous of surviving them
Than of sharing their coffins
We shall have the sublime pride
Of avenging or joining them

-------------------------

France
"La Marseillaise"

Words by: Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle
Music by: Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle
Adopted: 1795, abolished 1799, restored 1870

"La Marseillaise" was written and composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle,
captain in the Engineering corps garrisoned in Strasbourg during the night of
24 to 25 April 1792 at the behest of the city's mayor, Baron de Dietrich. The
song, originally entitled Hymne de Guerre Dédié au Maréchal de Luckner, became
known as Chant de Guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin when it was adopted as the
marching song of the National Guard of Marseille. The Marseille troops were
singing it as they entered Paris on 30 July 1792, and the Parisians dubbed it
the Marseillaise. The anthem is probably the first example of the "European
march" style of anthem.

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, "La Marseillaise" was also
known as the anthem of the international revolutionary movement. In 1871, it
was the anthem of the Paris Commune, and many later anarchists took inspiration
from the Commune. After the fall of the Czarist government in Russia, when
Communism was just starting to be set up, the melody of "La Marseillaise" was
adopted as the anthem (with different words), until "The Internationale" gained
more popularity, and started to replace "La Marseillaise" as the anthem of
leftist revolutionaries.

Under the First Republic, "La Marseillaise" was one of the civic songs that
contributed to the success of the Revolution, and thus was given official
status (along with "ChSur de la Liberté", with words by Voltaire). However, it
has not been continuously used since the Revolution; both Empires, the
Restoration and the Second Republic passed over it in favour of occasional
songs, with links below. (From 1799-1815, under Napoléon I, there was no real
national anthem.) During these times, however, "La Marseillaise" still remained
quite popular with the people, especially the republicans, these other anthems
were created in an attempt to quell the popularity of "La Marseillaise"
(especially during the times of the restored monarchy and empire, when a
republican government was against the aims of the current governmental type.)

Not until the Third Republic was the Marseillaise restored to its rank of
national anthem on all occasions at which military bands were called upon to
play an official air.  After the fall of the Third Republic and the occupation
of northern France by Germany, the Marseillaise remained the official anthem of
both the Vichy government (the Nazi puppet state set up in unoccupied southern
France) and the Free France forces, who were against the Vichy government and
sought its removal. Both factions also had unofficial anthems in popular use as
well, the Vichy government used a song dating from 1847 entitled "Maréchal,
nous voilà!" (written and composed by André Montagard and co-composer Charles
Courtious), and the Free French Le_Chant_des_Partisans
composed by Anna Marly (music) and French words by Maurice Druon and Joseph
Kessel, customarily sung as the anthem. At last the Marseillaise was made the
official national anthem by the constitutions of the Fourth and Fifth Republics
(Article 2 of the Constitution of 4 October 1958). In 1974, President Valéry
Giscard d'Estaing had it modified in accordance with earlier scores and slowed
the tempo. Since 1981 however, the anthem has once again been performed
according to the scores and tempo in use until 1974. While there are seven
verses ot the song, only the first (and sometimes the sixth and seventh) are
sung, along with the chorus.

The lyrics, speaking of bloody battles and a call for citizens to take up arms,
have been debated endlessly whether to alter the words to suit the more
peaceful times that France currently enjoys, but the original words, capturing
the spirit of the French revolution, remain. This is probably due to the fact
that "La Marseillaise" is now inexorably linked to France in the mind of the
world.

The anthem has become one of the most recognized in the world. Tchaikovsky used
a piece of it in his "1812 Overture", which was a chronicle of the war between
Russia and France of that year. (The Russian "God_Save_the_Czar" was also used
in his work, but, interestingly, neither anthem was used as the national anthem
in 1812! They were, however, both used as the respective countries' national
anthems in 1882, which was when the piece was written.) Also, until the
adoption of "The_Internationale" in Russia around 1918 as the Russian (later
Soviet) national anthem, "La Marseillaise" was used by many communist,
socialist, and left-leaning groups as an anthem.

Special thanks to:"Erwan" and "Daniel" for some of this information.

Also used in:French_Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, New_Caledonia,
Reunion, St._Pierre_and_Miquelon, Wallis_and_Futuna.

See also: France_(1815-1830), France_(1830-48), France_(1848-1852), Brittany,
Corsica, French_Polynesia.
