As I’ve read about
French history over the past year, I have been intrigued by the references to La Marseillaise, the song that has been the on-again, off-again French national
anthem since the late 1700s. What first caught my attention was how the song gained
its status as the national anthem after the French Revolution, lost the status
when Napoleon came to power, and then went back and forth as France alternated
between republics, empires, and monarchies. But what really caught my attention
were the references to the people, gathered in the streets during times when
the song was actually banned, singing La Marseillaise in open defiance against
their rulers.
With my interest piqued,
I looked it up online and had a listen. I could see why the people love
it and why it is consistently considered one of the top national anthems. The
tune is patriotic and rousing and the lyrics are great. You have to
love a national anthem whose refrain begins with “To arms, citizens!”.
Aux armes, citoyens,
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To arms, citizens,
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Formez vos bataillons,
|
Form your battalions,
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Marchons, marchons!
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Let us march, let us march!
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Qu'un sang impur
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So that an impure blood
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Abreuve nos sillons !
|
Will water our furrows!
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I looked forward to hearing
La Marseillaise in person and had the opportunity recently at a couple of
football (soccer) games I attended at Stade de France. Both games were part of
the 2014 World Cup qualifying, the first a 3-1 victory over Georgia and the
second a 0-1 loss to defending World Cup and European champion Spain.
It was impressive to
hear La Marseillaise in person, with the enthusiastic audience singing along. Here's a video I took prior to the match. And
then, on a couple of occasions during the emotional game with Spain, the crowd
spontaneously started singing it to root on the home team. Now that is a
national anthem.
