7/14/08
Fête Nationale - Quatorze Juillet!
La Marseillaise sung by Placido Domingo
It's July 14 and it's Bastille Day!
Our French friends, folks of French descent (my mother was a Ducharme) and Francophiles everywhere won't need the translation of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, but here is the first verse in the original and English. (Full text and translation here.)
Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé ! (bis)
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes,
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras
Égorger nos fils, nos compagnes !
Refrain
Aux armes, citoyens !
Formez vos bataillons !
(Formons nos bataillons!)
Marchez! Marchez!
(Marchons! Marchons!)
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons !
Let's rise, children of the fatherland,
The day of glory has arrived!
Against us tyranny's
Bloody flag is raised! (repeat)
In the countryside, do you hear
The roaring of these fierce soldiers?
They come right to our arms
To slit the throats of our sons, our friends!
Refrain
Grab your weapons, citizens!
Form your batallions!
(Let's form our batallions!)
March! March!
(Let us march! Let us march!)
May impure blood
Water our fields!
Joyeux Quatorze Juillet!
-CuréConcord
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Merci!
ReplyDeleteI always think of that great scene in the movie Casablanca when I hear La Marseillaise.
Love your blog.
Bob in Kansas City
We used to sing La Marseillaise in my high school French classes...with great vigor!
ReplyDeleteWe also sang it in HS French class. We were taught by French nuns. It brought back some great memories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the You Tube.
It's a rousing melody and pretty war-oriented as are many national anthems. Let's pray that the new peace initiative being undertaken by the French president will have a pacific effect. We really need that in this world.
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