Allons enfants de la Patrie
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé
Entendez-vous dans nos campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras.
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes !
Aux armes citoyens
Formez vos bataillons
Marchons, marchons
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons
(Full translation, which makes The Star-Spangled Banner look pacifistic.)
The Bastille was torn down very soon afterwards. Very little of it survives. The key to the fortress was given by Marquis de Lafayette to President Washington. It is on display at Mount Vernon.
3 comments:
Thanks for the link to the translation. The words seem to make a picture of the French more like gory war mongers than Homer Simpson's "surrender monkeys".
Dan, the French issue was all too often poor leadership, not a problem with the troops or equipment…much like the Czarist Russians/Soviets. While a far from rare problem, it seemed to very heavily impact the French, Italians and Russians…all though the Soviet problem was often self inflicted rather than systemic.
The French in WW2 started with more and better tanks than the Germans, but they were wasted in penny packets, and the armies were led by too many blind old fools.
Always thought it was a pretty darn bad ass anthem.
Post a Comment