Our primary goal here at LingoCulture is to help French learners master different aspects of the language. In addition, since many of our students strive to feel at ease in France, we also make a point of helping learners understand important aspects of the country’s culture. Today’s post is mostly cultural, as we take a close look at the French national anthem: La Marseillaise.

We’ll start off with a bit of history, framing the song within its long-term context of revolutionary and political battles. We’ll look at its significance over the course of several French eras, from when it was written to when it was banned to when it was codified as the national anthem. We’ll even talk about when it’s likely to be sung today.

With our history lessons out of the way, we’ll see the song itself. Scroll down if you want to learn the French lyrics to the French national anthem, starting with the refrain and then seeing each of its seven verses. We’ll provide translations verse by verse, so you’ll find the French national anthem lyrics in English after each one. We’ll also take a look at an English version of the French national anthem that’s distinct from any translation.

Once we’ve seen all the lyrics, we’ll end today’s post by considering the place of La Marseillaise in today’s society. Through the lens of history, patriotism, and retribution, is France’s national anthem a suitable rallying cry for French sports fans of the 21st century? Let’s take a look at this emblematic song so you can decide for yourself!

History

La Marseillaise began its illustrious history as a call to arms. It’s unabashedly a battle song, encouraging the citizenry to join a bloody fight against their oppressors.

Regarding our research into the history of the French national anthem, we’re basing most of today’s lesson on the explanations provided by the Office of the President of France.

When was the French national anthem written?

The words to the French national anthem were first written in one night, the 25th of April 1792. It was written in the city of Strasbourg, in France’s northeastern Alsace region, following a declaration of war by Austria against France. The original title of the call to arms was simply Chant de guerre pour l’armée du Rhin, meaning War Song for the Army of the Rhine.

Hand-written copies of the song were widely distributed in the region over the next weeks, in addition to printed versions. Parisian printing presses soon produced more copies that made their way farther afield across France. It also simply spread by word of mouth, with patriotic citizens learning the words to La Marseillaise from one another.

The song gained particular notoriety later that year, as it was sung by a volunteer regiment from Marseille as they participated in the Tuileries uprising on the 10th of August. This led it to become popularly known as La Marseillaise.

What does La Marseillaise mean?

Marseille is France’s second city, situated in the southeast of the country on the Mediterranean coast.

Une marseillaise is what we call a female citizen of Marseille, comparable to une parisienne for a woman from Paris.

Remember that all French nouns are either masculine or feminine, so the woman being referred to here is la chanson itself: the song. Even though the song started out as a call to battle in the Rhine region, it quickly became known simply as La Marseillaise.

Who wrote the French national anthem?

The words to the French national anthem are attributed to Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle.

Rouget de Lisle was captain of engineers in the French army at the time. He penned the lyrics while hosted by the mayor of Strasbourg. He composed many other songs over the course of his life, but none of his other works gained any fame.

Rouget de Lisle was posthumously honored for this contribution to French culture with a transfer of his remains to Les Invalides in Paris on the 14th of July 1915.

The seventh verse of La Marseillaise was added to the original six sometime later in 1792, and its author is unknown. While the original six verses are just numbered I to VI, the seventh verse is known as le couplet des enfants, or the verse of the children.

When did La Marseillaise become the French national anthem?

The French National Assembly first adopted a motion to enshrine the lyrics of the seven verses as a national song on the 14th of July 1795.

Because of political turmoil and changing leadership, the song was officially banned for several of the next several decades during the Empire and the Restoration periods of French history. It was reinstated during the Revolution in 1830, gaining particular favor as a call to arms among patriotic citizens.

As we mentioned above, the song’s origins saw it disseminated among the citizenry largely by word of mouth, so there were inevitably some modifications that happened along the way. This was particularly the case with the tune and even the tempo, which varied widely from region to region. Basically, the tune and pace generally reflected the tastes of those singing or performing the song.

The Third Republic officially declared La Marseillaise the French national anthem in 1879, though even then there was no official tune. Only in 1887 was the music we know today adopted as the official version, following the recommendations of a panel of professional musicians to the Ministry of War.

The song’s tempo has nonetheless continued to fluctuate over the generations, being played slower during the middle of the 20th century. The French national anthem played today is back to the faster pace that was popular in the late-1900s.

The status of La Marseillaise as the French national anthem was reaffirmed in 1946 and 1958 with updates to the constitution.

When do the French sing La Marseillaise?

As France’s national anthem, La Marseillaise is sung in any sort of patriotic moment.

The first circumstance that any French person will tell you that they sing La Marseillaise is at the start of un match de foot avec les Bleus. In other words, at an important soccer game with the French national team.

As is the custom in big international sports tournaments, national anthems are played before the games as each country’s team is introduced. French fans will sing along with La Marseillaise as it’s played on television, whether the match is being showed at a small bar or at a big fan zone. Likewise, spontaneous outbursts of the national anthem may even erupt from big crowds if the French team wins the game.

In contrast to customs in other countries, there’s no implicit obligation to hold one’s hand to the heart when singing the French national anthem. The only expectation is that it’s treated with respect, so either you sing along or you shut up. Don’t dare continue another conversation while everyone else is singing along with the national team at the start of a match!

Sports events are the most common moments where the French will sing their national anthem, but it may also figure in other patriotic contexts. Don’t be surprised to encounter it during Bastille Day celebrations, for example, as the French celebrate their fête nationale!

Finally, we’ll mention that when it comes down to actually singing the words of the national anthem in French, often just the refrain is enough. If you really want to join in with the crowd but feel like seven verses is a lot, start off with the refrain and you’ll quickly be chanting marchons, marchons, with everyone else!

Lyrics to the French national anthem

Now that we’re familiar with the background of this historic song, let’s take a closer look at the meaning of its lyrics. We’ll introduce each verse in French, known as un couplet, followed by its English translation. We’ll start with le refrain, or the chorus, which is repeated after every verse.

For several of the verses, we’re using the English translations provided by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For the others, the translations are our own.

REFRAIN
Aux armes, citoyens !
Formez vos bataillons !
Marchons, marchons !
Qu’un sang impur…
Abreuve nos sillons !

To arms, citizens,
Form your battalions,
Let’s march, let’s march!
Let an impure blood
Soak our fields!

COUPLET I
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 vos bras
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes

Arise, children of the Fatherland,
The day of glory has arrived!
Against us tyranny’s
Bloody banner is raised,
Bloody banner is raised.
Do you hear, in the countryside,
The roar of those ferocious soldiers?
They’re coming right into your arms
To cut the throats of your sons, your women!

REFRAIN

COUPLET II
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 !

What do they want, this horde of slaves,
Of traitors, of conjured-up kings?
For whom are these vile chains,
These swords prepared since so long?
These swords prepared since so long?
Frenchmen! For us, ah! What outrage!
What strong emotions this must arouse;
It’s us that they dare to consider
Returning to ancient servitude!

REFRAIN

COUPLET III
Quoi ! Des cohortes étrangères
Feraient la loi dans nos foyers !
Quoi ! Des phalanges mercenaires
Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers !
Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers !
Dieu ! Nos mains seraient enchaînées !
Nos fronts sous le joug se ploieraient !
De vils despotes deviendraient
Les maîtres de nos destinées !

What! Foreign battalions
Would make the law in our hearths!
What! Mercenary regiments
Would slay our proud warriors!
Would slay our proud warriors!
God! Our hands would be chained!
Our brows would bow down under the yoke!
Vile despots would become
The masters of our destinies!

REFRAIN

COUPLET IV
Tremblez, tyrans et vous, perfides,
L’opprobre de tous les partis !
Tremblez ! Vos projets parricides
Vont enfin recevoir leur prix.
Vont enfin recevoir leur 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.

Tremble, you tyrants and traitors
Disgrace from all sides!
Tremble! Your patricidal projects
Will finally get their due.
Will finally get their due.
Everyone is a soldier to fight you.
If they fall, our young heros,
The earth will produce more of them,
All ready to fight against you.

REFRAIN

COUPLET V
Français, en guerriers magnanimes
Portons ou retenons nos coups !
Épargnons ces tristes victimes,
A regret, s’armant contre nous !
A regret, s’armant contre nous !
Mais ce despote sanguinaire !
Mais ces complices de Bouillé !
Tous ces tigres qui, sans pitié,
Déchirent le sein de leur mère !

Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors
Let’s deliver or hold back our blows!
Let’s spare these sad victims,
Who arm themselves against us with regret
Who arm themselves against us with regret
But this bloodthirsty despot!
But these accomplices of Bouillé!
All of these tigers who, mercilessly,
Rip the bosom from their mother!

REFRAIN

COUPLET VI
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 !

Sacred love of the Fatherland,
Lead, support our avenging arms
Liberty, cherished Liberty,
Fight with thy defenders!
Fight with thy defenders!
Under our flags, may victory
Hurry to thy manly accents,
May thy expiring enemies,
See thy triumph and our glory!

REFRAIN

COUPLET DES ENFANTS – THE CHILDREN’S VERSE
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.

We shall enter the [military] career
When our elders are no longer there,
There we shall find their dust
And the trace of their virtues
And the trace of their virtues
Much less keen to survive them
Than to share their coffins,
We shall have the sublime pride
Of avenging or following them!

REFRAIN

The French national anthem in English

As we saw in our discussion of the French national anthem’s history, this song has enjoyed widespread popularity over the course of centuries. From its rapid adoption among French soldiers and militias in the late-1700s, to being played in urban theatres and opera houses across the land throughout the 1800s, the strong sentiments expressed by La Marseillaise gained favor with a broad spectrum of society.

At some point, an English version of the Marseille Hymn appeared, making its way beyond the borders of France. Its authorship is still attributed to Rouget de Lisle, though the English lyrics are distinct from any straight translation of the original version we saw above.

So what are the lyrics to the French national anthem, English version? Well, we’ve come across these three verses plus chorus in a number of places, each with slight differences, so we’ve decided to go with the version shared by the Office of the President of France.

We’ve copied these lyrics of the Marseille Hymn verbatim from the original musical score. The choice of words and the archaic language of this English French national anthem should give a good idea of the poetics and emotions of the original.

Ye sons of Freedom wake to glory,
Hark what myriads bid you rise;
Your children wives and grandsires hoary
Behold their tears and hear their cries!
Behold their tears and hear their cries
Shall hateful tyrants, mischief breeding.
With hireling hosts a ruffian band,
Affright and desolate the land,
Where peace and liberty lie bleeding,

REFRAIN
To arms, to arms, ye brave,
Th’avenging sword unsheath,
March on, March on,
All hearts resolv’d, On victory or death.
March on, March on,
All hearts resolv’d, On victory or death.

Now the dangerous storm is rolling,
Which treacherous kings confederate raise.
The dogs of war let loose, are howling,
And lo! our fields and cities blaze.
And shall we basely view the ruin,
While lawless force, with guilty stride,
Spreads desolation far and wide,
With crimes and blood their hands embrueing,

REFRAIN

With luxury and pride surrounded,
The vile, insatiate despots dare;
Their thirst of power and gold unbounded,
To mete and vend the light and air.
Like beasts of burden would they load us,
Like gods would bid their slaves adore,
But man is man, and who is more?
Then shall they longer lash and goad us?

REFRAIN

O, Liberty, can man resign thee,
Once having felt thy generous flame?
Can dungeons, bolts, and bars, confine thee,
Or whips thy noble spirit tame?
Too long the world hath wept, bewailing,
That falsehood’s dagger tyrants wield,
But freedom is our sword and shield,
And all their arts, are unavailing,

REFRAIN

Conclusion: The French national anthem

What do you think? Whether we’re considering the original French national anthem translation, or the distinct English version, you’ve surely understood how it pulls at a nation’s heartstrings to stir emotions of pride, anger, and defensiveness.

Perhaps it’s worth asking if La Marseillaise is still a suitable anthem for modern France, given its bloody undertones. In a land that hasn’t been attacked by a foreign power in over 80 years, very few of today’s citizens can even relate first-hand to the song’s calls for retribution.

On the other hand, the French people still have a long memory. Family stories are passed down between generations, so most French are aware of the horrors inflicted upon their direct ancestors in the two world wars of the last century. Every town and village in the country even has a prominent monument aux morts, commemorating the locals who died for their country in those struggles against foreign invaders.

In the context of history, a call to arms remains an honorable anthem for a people who value their liberty and won’t take it for granted. La Marseillaise has served the French as a patriotic rallying cry for so many generations, that it’s hard to consider any other anthem that unites the citizenry the same way.

Now that you’ve seen the lyrics in French and English, as well as the other historical English version of the Marseille Hymn, you can make your own conclusions about it. Despite the actual words to the French national anthem, the camaraderie that it engenders remains its best attribute.

So the next time you’re among a crowd of sports fans getting ready to watch Les Bleus take on another country’s team, you can stand with your French neighbors and sing along enthusiastically: Marchons, marchons !