The Music Plays On — La Marseillaise

Today is Bastille Day, or Fête nationale, and like our Independence Day on July 4, July 14 marks and celebrates the revolutionary origins of France. On this day in 1789, revolutionary forces stormed the Bastille to free the remaining political prisoners still held in this famously expensive prison, as well as Fête de la Fédération, which celebrated the unity of the French people, on July 14, 1790.

Written in 1792, La Marseillaise was written by the French army officer, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled “Chant de guerre pour l’Armée du Rhin.” It was renamed La Marseillaise after army volunteers from Marseille were heard singing this song while marching all the way to the capital, Paris. It was made the national anthem in 1795.

Much like the irony of our annual Independence Day performances of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, which commemorates the successful Russian defense against Napoleon’s invading Grande Armée in 1812, the lyrics to La Marseillaise really have nothing to do with the French Revolution, but with protecting the country from Austrian invasion. There have been occasional attempts to change the lyrics, but they’ve always been unsuccessful, at best.

Allons enfants de la Patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé!
Contre nous de la tyrannie…