Song of the departure

the Song of the Departure is a revolutionary song and an anthem of war, written by Etienne Nicolas Méhul (for the music) and Marie-Joseph Chénier (for the words) in 1794. It was the official anthem of the First Empire.

This song was called the “brother of the Marseillaise” by the republican soldiers. It is made up the July 14th 1794. it is then presented to Robespierre, which qualifies it “imposing and republican poetry which exceeds all that this of Gironde of Chénier made”.

The song is first of all carried out by the orchestra and the choruses of the Conservatoire of music on July 14th, 1794. It is immediately printed with nearly 18.000 specimen and is distributed to the 14 armies of the République.

The Song of the departure became the official anthem of the First Empire, Napoleon preferred this anthem with the Marseillaise. The original title of the Song of the departure is Hymn to liberty (the name was changed by Robespierre).

It is a musical table: with each of the seven stanzas the anthem is sung by an individual or groups of different individuals.

In the first verse it is for example about a Député which speaks with soldiers, it encourages them to fight to defend the Republic. In the second verse it is about a mother who gives her son to the fatherland. In the fourth verse it is about a child who sings Joseph Bara and Joseph Agricol Viala, two young French (12 years and 13 years) who died for the Republic. Whereas it was surrounded by Vendéens which required of him to shout “Lives Louis XVII”; Bara would then have refused and would have then launched: “The Republic Lives”, cry for which it was carried out at once. As for Viala he died struck by a ball while trying to cut the cords of a pontoon of the enemy. Its last words were: “I die, but it is for Freedom”.

The song survived the Révolution and the First Empire. Today he is always sung by the French Army . Valery Giscard d'Estaing had made of it her song of countryside at the time of the presidential election of 1974; President of the Republic, it often made it play troops during official ceremonies, with the Marseillaise . It is a traditional example of warlike song.

Words

a deputy of the People
Victory in chantant
We opens the barrière.
Freedom guides our pas.
And of North in Midi
The trumpet guerrière
With sounded the hour of the combats.
Tremble enemy of France
Drunk kings of blood and orgueil.
The sovereign People advance,
Tyrants go down to the cercueil.

The Republic us appelle
Let us can overcome or let us know périr
A French must live for elle
For it a French must die.

Song of the warriors (Refrain)
The Republic us appelle
Let us can overcome or let us know périr
A French must live for elle
For it a French must die.

a mother
Our maternal eyes do not fear the tears:
Far from us of cowards pains!
We must triumph when you take the weapons:
It is to the kings to pour pleurs.
We gave you the life,
Warriors, it is not any more with you;
All your days are with the fatherland:
It is your mother before nous.
(Refrain)

Two old men
That paternal iron arms the hand with the brave men;
Think of us with the field of Mars;
Devote in the blood of the kings and the esclaves
The iron blessed by your old men;
And, paying under the chaumière
Wounds and virtues,
Come to close our paupière
When the tyrants are not plus.
(Refrain)

a child
Of Barred, of Viala the fate makes us desire;
They died, but they have vaincu.
The overpowered coward of years did not know the life:
Who dies for the people has vécu.
You are valiant, we are it:
Guide us against the tyrants;
The republicans are men,
The slaves are enfants.
(Refrain)

a wife
Leave, valiant husbands; the engagements are your festivals;
Leave, models of the warriors;
We will gather flowers to gird your heads of them:
Our hands will braid your lauriers.
And, if the temple of mémoire
Opened with your victorious manes,
Our voices will sing your glory,
Our sides will carry your vengeurs.
(Refrain)

an young girl
And us, sisters of the heroes, us who hyménée
Let us be unaware of the pleasant nodes;
If, to link itself one day with our destiny,
The citizens form wishes,
That they return in our murailles
Beautiful of glory and freedom,
And that their blood, in the battles,
Ran for the égalité.
(Refrain)

Three warriors
On iron in front of God, us swearwords with our fathers,
With our wives, our sisters,
With our representatives, our sons, our mothers,
To destroy the oppressors:
In all places, in the major night,
Plunging the infamous royalty,
French will give to the monde
And peace and the liberté.
(Refrain)

Bonds external

Full version of the Song of the Departure

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