La Marseillaise
July 14, 2004
It's Bastille day and I'd like to talk about the French national anthem. It is regularly discussed whether its words should be changed. Why? See for yourself why it might be deemed offensive:
Let us go, children of the Fatherland
The day of glory has arrived.
Against us, the bloody Flag
of tyranny is raised,
The bloody flag is raised.
Do you hear in the countryside
The roar of these savage soldiers
They come right into our arms
To slaughter our sons and our wives.
To arms, citizens!
Form your battalions,
March on, March on!
May their impure blood
Water our fields
Sanguinary, isn't it? One must admit that it's completely lost its relevance, and that its violence is slightly over the top. People have been arguing that it would be a lot more fitting and productive to have a national anthem calling all French people to live in peace and harmony, for example. The mention of "impure blood" is particularly shocking within a context of racism and inter-religion feuds. Besides, it's outrageously sexist; it is clearly meant to be sung by men and thus ostracizes half of the French population.
However, I would be quite upset if it was scrapped. I think the words are so absolutely ludicrous and out of date that they have lost their meaning; I don't think any sports fan actually thinks about what they're saying when they're bellowing it before a rugby game/race etc. I also find it incredibly rousing and can't help feeling moved when thousands of people are shouting it at the same time. This, of course, doesn't sit well at all with my dislike of nationalist feelings in general. However, I like the fact that however disconnected and remote from my mother country I feel, it can't fail to move me and to make me feel a bit more… French. It's completely irrational and of course, I agree that a national anthem should ideally carry a message of peace and understanding between all nations. However, I can't help feeling quite strongly that we should keep it, maybe as a reminder of our history, maybe because we should be happy that the most hostile environment we'll sing it in nowadays is a football stadium.
There have been attempts to improve the British National Anthem to make it more PC, some more successful than others (ahem!). I wonder if alternative versions of La Marseillaise can be found. I've found one from as far back as 1900:
" Allons enfants de la patrie, Le jour de joie est arrivé ! La source de haine est tarie, L’étendard de paix est levé. Entendez-vous dans les campagnes Chanter ces joyeux laboureurs lis sont heureux, ces braves coeurs De ne plus attrister leurs compagnes. " Myrtille RENGRET (1900). Mind you I suppose that's a bit too optimistic!
On the other hand others go to the opposite extreme:
Allons enfants de la colère
Debout ! Debout, les prolétaires !
Travailleurs, chômeurs ou précaires
Prisonniers de la même galère (bis)
Entendez-vous tous ces menteurs
Payés par les profiteurs ?
Ils tentent par tous les moyens
De nous faire tous vivre comme des chiens.
Refrain (repris de la Marseillaise du peuple)
Chantons la liberté !
Défendons la cité !
Marchons, marchons !
Sans souverain,
Le peuple aura du pain !
Allons enfants de la galère
Debout ! Debout, les prolétaires !
Chômeurs, mendiants, jeunes et étrangers
Ce monde, il nous faut le changer (bis)
Entendez-vous tous ces voleurs
Banquiers, patrons, prédateurs ?
Ils veulent toujours plus de fric
Avec eux, ils ont les juges, les flics.
Allons enfants de la misère
Debout ! Debout, car c'est la guerre
. Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé (bis)
Entendez-vous dans les journaux
Rugir les vigiles, les faschos ?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos coeurs
Susciter la haine et la peur.
,.... oh well!....
Maybe the Académie should run a competition for the best alternative words (assuming we want the same tune (and it's a much better tune than our British one, despite the fact that our British tune was written by a French person too!)
Allons chantons!
I have to say that I do not find it shocking at all. Neither the French national anthem nor others of the same genre.
It serves as a reminder that a lot of the freedoms and the relative peace that many Westerners take for granted were not handed on a plate but had to be fought for.
The word 'impure' loses its shock value in the context of a battle cry.
Basically I do not think it is a bad thing to be patriotic and attemps to 'modernise' the French national anthem are, I think, pandering to a minority who are PC-hypersensitive.
I prefer the word 'patriotism' to 'nationalism' since the latter has negative connotations- was it General de Gaulle who said (something like) patriotism is loving your own kind more than others, while nationalism was hating others more than your own kind ).
I agree, La Marseillaise is definitely an icon, and it would lose its appeal if it was changed. Besides, other national anthems, the Czech one for example, are way too sentimental. :-)
Posted by Johanka on July 15, 2004 12:35 PM