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Revision as of 10:56, 26 November 2008
The Internationale (L'Internationale in French) is a famous socialist, communist, social-democratic and anarchist anthem and one of the most widely recognized songs in the world.
The Internationale became the anthem of international socialism. Its original French refrain is C'est la lutte finale/ Groupons-nous et demain/ L'Internationale/ Sera le genre humain. (Freely translated: "This is the final struggle/ Let us join together and tomorrow/ The Internationale/ Will be the human race.") The Internationale has been translated into many of the world's languages. Traditionally it is sung with the hand raised in a clenched fist salute. The Internationale is sung not only by communists but also (in many countries) by socialists or social democrats, as well as anarchists.
Contents
Original French lyrics and copyright controversy
The original French words were written in June 1871 by Eugène Pottier (1816–1887, later a member of the Paris Commune)[1] and were originally intended to be sung to the tune of La Marseillaise.[2] Pierre De Geyter (1848–1932) set the poem to music in 1888.[3] His melody was first publicly performed in July 1888[4] and became widely used soon after.
In an unsuccessful attempt to save Pierre De Geyter's job as a woodcarver, the 6,000 leaflets printed by Lille printer Bolboduc only mentioned the French version of his family name (Degeyter). In 1904, Pierre's brother Adolphe was induced by the Lille mayor Gustave Delory to claim copyright, so that the income of the song would continue to go to Delory's French Socialist Party. Pierre De Geyter lost the first copyright case in 1914, but after his brother committed suicide and left a note explaining the fraud, Pierre was declared the copyright owner by a court of appeal in 1922.[5]
Pierre De Geyter died in 1932. His music of the Internationale may be copyrighted in France until October 2017. The duration of copyright in France is 70 years following the end of the year when the author died, plus 6 years and 152 days to compensate for World War I, and 8 years and 120 days to compensate for World War II respectively.[6] However, the applicability of the wartime copyright extensions is a matter of current litigation.[7] In 2005, Le Chant du Monde, the corporation administering the authors' rights, asked Pierre Merejkowsky, the film director and an actor of Insurrection / résurrection, to pay €1,000 for whistling the song for seven seconds.[8]
However, as the Internationale music was published before 1 July 1909 outside the United States of America, it is in the public domain in the USA.[9] Pierre De Geyter's music is also in the public domain in countries and areas whose copyright durations are authors' lifetime plus 75 years or less. As Eugène Pottier died in 1887, his original French lyrics are in the public domain. Gustave Delory once acquired the copyright of his lyrics through the songwriter G B Clement having bought it from Pottier's widow.[10]
| French lyrics | Literal English translation |
|---|---|
| First stanza | |
|
Debout, les damnés de la terre |
Arise, wretched of the earth |
| Second stanza | |
|
Il n'est pas de sauveurs suprêmes |
There are no supreme saviours |
| Third stanza | |
|
L'état comprime et la loi triche |
The state represses and the law cheats |
| Fourth stanza | |
|
Hideux dans leur apothéose |
Hideous in their self-glorification |
| Fifth stanza | |
|
Les rois nous saoulaient de fumées |
The kings make us drunk with their fumes, |
| Sixth stanza | |
|
Ouvriers, paysans, nous sommes |
Labourers, peasants, we are |
English lyrics
The traditional British version of The Internationale is usually sung in three verses, while the American version, authored by Charles Hope Kerr with five verses, is usually sung in two.[11][12] The American version is sometimes sung with the phrase "the internationale", "the international soviet", or "the international union" in place of "the international working class". In English, the traditional workers' pronunciation is not an imitation of the French Template:IPA, but rather Template:IPA (rhyming with "alley" or "valley").
The English versions are known to be notoriously difficult to sing, as the lyrics may appear sometimes forced and unnatural. British musician Billy Bragg, after talking to the American folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, agreed that the old lyrics were "archaic and unsingable". Bragg composed revised verses for the song, based on the British version. The recording was released on his album The Internationale along with reworkings of other socialist songs. A full, six-stanza translation can be found on the Wikisource page on The Internationale.
| British/Irish Translation | Billy Bragg's Revision[13] | American version |
|---|---|---|
| First stanza | ||
|
Arise, ye workers from your slumber, |
Stand up, all victims of oppression, |
Arise, you prisoners of starvation! |
| Second stanza | ||
|
No more deluded by reaction, |
Let no one build walls to divide us, |
We want no condescending saviors |
| Third stanza | ||
|
No saviour from on high delivers, |
And so begins the final drama, | |
See also
- Anarchism and the arts for further details on expression of anarchist themes through art
References
- ↑ The Guardian, Australia. The International.
- ↑ David Walls, Sonoma State University. Billy Bragg's Revival of Aging Anthems: Radical Nostalgia or Activist Inspiration?.
- ↑ The Guardian, Australia. The International.
- ↑ The Guardian, Australia. The International.
- ↑ The Guardian, Australia. The International.
- ↑ Arts. L123-1, L123-8, and L123-9 in Chapter III of Title II of Book I of the Intellectual Property Code of France and its French version.
- ↑ See also commons:Commons:Licensing#Wartime copyright extensions for the list of some relevant French lawsuits with external links.
- ↑ (French) Le Monde and Zalea TV.
- ↑ Peter B. Hirtle. Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States.
- ↑ The Guardian, Australia. The International.
- ↑ David Walls, Sonoma State University. Billy Bragg's Revival of Aging Anthems: Radical Nostalgia or Activist Inspiration?.
- ↑ The Internationale in 82 languages
- ↑ Billy Bragg: Albums: The Internationale
External links
- The Internationale in 86 languages
- Downloadable recordings in more than 40 languages
- (Russian) Another large collection of downloadable recordings
- Communist propaganda clip with the Internationale as background music (Albanian and Russian)
- A documentary on the Internationale.
- Piano arrangements and orchestral MIDI file of The Internationale
| This article contains content from Wikipedia. Current versions of the GNU FDL article The Internationale on WP may contain information useful to the improvement of this article | WP |
