Chant du départ

Sung by Georges Thill, tenor of the Opera, and played by the band of the Garde Républicaine. Directed by Pierre Dupont

The "Chant du Départ" (French for "Song of the Departure") is a revolutionary and war song written by Étienne Nicolas Méhul (music) and Marie-Joseph Chénier (words) in 1794. It was the official anthem of the First Empire. It is also the regional anthem of French Guiana.

The song was nicknamed "the brother of the Marseillaise" by Republican soldiers. It was presented to Maximilien Robespierre, who called it "magnificent and republican poetry way beyond anything ever made by the Girondin Chénier."

The song was first performed by the orchestra and choirs of the Music academy on 14 July 1794. 17,000 copies of the music sheets were immediately printed and distributed in the 14 Armies of the Republic. Its original title was Anthem to Liberty; it was changed to its present title by Robespierre.

The song is a musical tableau: each of the seven stanzas is sung by a different character or group of characters:

• The first stanza is the discourse of a deputy cheering his soldiers and encouraging them for the fight for the Republic
• The second stanza is the song of a mother offering the life of her son to the fatherland.
• The fourth stanza is sung by children exalting Joseph Agricol Viala and Joseph Bara, children aged 12 and 13, respectively, who had died for France:
  • Surrounded by Vendeans, Bara was ordered to shout "Long live Louis XVII"; he shouted "Long live the Republic" instead and was executed on the spot.
  • Viala was killed by a bullet as he was trying to sabotage an enemy bridge. His last words were "I die, but I die for the Republic."

The song survived both the Revolution and the Empire, and is still in the repertoire of the French Army. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing even used it as his campaign song for the presidential election of 1974. As a president of the Republic, he would often have it played by troops, along with the Marseillaise.

Lyrics

Un député du Peuple	A deputy of the People
La victoire en chantant Nous ouvre la barrière. La Liberté guide nos pas. Et du Nord au Midi La trompette guerrière A sonné l'heure des combats. Tremblez ennemis de la France Rois ivres de sang et d'orgueil. Le Peuple souverain s'avance, Tyrans descendez au cercueil.	Victory singing Opens for us the gates Liberty guides our steps And from the North to the South The war trumpet Signals the hour of the fight Tremble, enemies of France Kings drunk on blood and pride The sovereign People comes forth Tyrants go down to your graves
Chant des guerriers (Refrain)	Song of the Warriors (Chorus)
La République nous appelle Sachons vaincre ou sachons périr Un Français doit vivre pour elle Pour elle un Français doit mourir.	The Republic is calling us Let's know how to vanquish or let's know how to perish A Frenchman must live for her [the Republic] For her [the Republic] a Frenchman must die
Une mère de famille	A mother of a family
De nos yeux maternels ne craignez pas les larmes : Loin de nous de lâches douleurs ! Nous devons triompher quand vous prenez les armes : C'est aux rois à verser des pleurs. Nous vous avons donné la vie, Guerriers, elle n'est plus à vous ; Tous vos jours sont à la patrie : Elle est votre mère avant nous. (Refrain)	Do not fear that our motherly eyes should weep From us begone, cowardly grief! We must triumph when you bear arms It is kings who have to weep We gave you life Warriors, it is no longer yours All your days belong to the Motherland It is your mother above all (Chorus)
Deux vieillards	Two old men
Que le fer paternel arme la main des braves ; Songez à nous au champ de Mars ; Consacrez dans le sang des rois et des esclaves Le fer béni par vos vieillards ; Et, rapportant sous la chaumière Des blessures et des vertus, Venez fermer notre paupière Quand les tyrans ne seront plus. (Refrain)	May the fatherly iron arm, the hand of the braves Think of us on the Field of Mars (battlefield) Bless with the blood of the kings and of the slaves the arms blessed by your elder And bringing back home wounds and virtues come and close our lids when tyrants are no more (Chorus)
Un enfant	A child
De Barra, de Viala le sort nous fait envie ; Ils sont morts, mais ils ont vaincu. Le lâche accablé d'ans n'a point connu la vie : Qui meurt pour le peuple a vécu. Vous êtes vaillants, nous le sommes : Guidez-nous contre les tyrans ; Les républicains sont des hommes, Les esclaves sont des enfants. (Refrain)	The fates of Barra and Viala fill us with envy They died, but they prevailed The coward plagued with years never experienced life He who dies for the People has lived You are brave, we are too Guide us against Tyrants Republicans are men Slaves are children (Chorus)
Une épouse	A wife
Partez, vaillants époux ; les combats sont vos fêtes ; Partez, modèles des guerriers ; Nous cueillerons des fleurs pour en ceindre vos têtes : Nos mains tresserons vos lauriers. Et, si le temple de mémoire S'ouvrait à vos mânes vainqueurs, Nos voix chanterons votre gloire, Nos flancs porteront vos vengeurs. (Refrain)	Leave, valiant husbands! Battles are your feasts Leave, models for warriors We shall pick flowers to crown your heads Our hands shall braid laurels And if the temple of memory (death) Should open for your victorious manes Our voices shall sing your glory Our wombs shall bear your avengers (Chorus)
Une jeune fille	A young girl
Et nous, sœurs des héros, nous qui de l'hyménée Ignorons les aimables nœuds ; Si, pour s'unir un jour à notre destinée, Les citoyens forment des vœux, Qu'ils reviennent dans nos murailles Beaux de gloire et de liberté, Et que leur sang, dans les batailles, Ait coulé pour l'égalité. (Refrain)	And we, sister of the heroes, we who of Hymenaios [marriage] ignore the loveable knots if, for uniting themselves some day with our destiny a citizen would express the wish let them come back in our walls embellished with glory and liberty and that their blood, in battles would have been spilled for equality (Chorus)
Trois guerriers	Three warriors
Sur le fer devant Dieu, nous jurons à nos pères, À nos épouses, à nos sœurs, À nos représentants, à nos fils, à nos mères, D'anéantir les oppresseurs : En tous lieux, dans la nuit profonde, Plongeant l'infâme royauté, Les Français donneront au monde Et la paix et la liberté. (Refrain)	On the iron, before God, we swear to our fathers to our wives, to our sisters to our representatives, to our sons, to our mothers that we shall annihilate oppressors Everywhere, into the deep night by sinking the infamous royalty the French shall give to the world peace and liberty (Chorus)

External links

• Chant du départ ("la victoire en chantant") on YouTube.