The Internationale (L'Internationale in French) is the most famous socialist (and anarchist) song and one of the most widely recognized songs in the world. The original (French) words were written in 1870 by Eugène Pottier (1816–1887, later a member of the Paris Commune). Pierre Degeyter (1848–1932) set the poem to music in 1888. (It was originally intended to be sung to the tune of La Marseillaise.)
The Internationale became the anthem of international revolutionary socialism. Its refrain: C'est la lutte finale/Groupons-nous et demain/L'Internationale/Sera le genre humain. (Freely translated, this means: "This is the final struggle/Let us join together and tomorrow/The International/Will embrace all the human race.") The Internationale has been translated into scores of languages. Traditionally it is sung with the right hand raised in a clenched-fist salute. In English, the traditional workers' pronunciation is not an imitation of that of the French, but rather like "inter-nashshun-ALLEY".
In many European countries, the song was illegal around the beginning of the 20th century because of its communist image and government-undermining lyrics.
The Russian version served as the national anthem of the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1944, when it was replaced by the Hymn of the Soviet Union and became the party anthem of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was initially translated by Aron Kots (Arkadiy Yakovlevich Kots) in 1902 and printed in London in the Russian émigré magazine Zhizn (Life). The first Russian version consisted of three stanzas (as opposed to six stanzas in the original French lyrics) and the refrain. Later it was expanded and reworded.
The Internationale is sung not only by communists but also (in many countries) by socialists or social democrats. It was also a rallying song of the students and workers at the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
In George Orwell's Animal Farm, it is parodied by Beasts of England.
The music of the Internationale is copyrighted in France until 2014, though this copyright is widely ignored by organizers of left-wing meetings and other occasions where it is sung. While the duration of copyright in France is 70 years following the death of the author, it was extended to compensate for the First World War and the Second World War. (See Chapter III of Title II of Book I of the Intellectual Property Code of France and its French version.) In 2005, a movie producer was asked to pay €1000 for the use of the song by the corporation administering the authors' rights. (See Report.)
Original French lyrics
| French lyrics |
Literal English translation
|
| First stanza
|
|
Debout, les damnés de la terre
Debout, les forçats de la faim
La raison tonne en son cratère
C'est l'éruption de la fin
Du passé faisons table rase
Foules, esclaves, debout, debout
Le monde va changer de base
Nous ne sommes rien, soyons tout
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|
|
Arise, the damned of the earth,
Arise, prisoners of hunger,
For reason thunders in its crater,
It is the last eruption!
Let us discard the past,
Army of slaves, arise, arise!
The world is changing at the base,
We who have been nothing, let's be everything!
|: It is the final struggle
Let us gather, and tomorrow
The Internationale
Will be mankind! :|
|
| Second stanza
|
|
Il n'est pas de sauveurs suprêmes
Ni Dieu, ni César, ni tribun
Producteurs, sauvons-nous nous-mêmes
Décrétons le salut commun
Pour que le voleur rende gorge
Pour tirer l'esprit du cachot
Soufflons nous-mêmes notre forge
Battons le fer quand il est chaud
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|
|
There are no supreme saviours,
Neither God, nor Caesar, nor tribune.
Producers, let's save ourselves!
Together let's enact a common decree
To force the thief to return his loot,
So that the mind is set free from the prison cell!
Let us blow upon our furnace ourselves,
Strike the iron while it is hot!
|: It is the final struggle
Let us gather, and tomorrow
The Internationale
Will be mankind! :|
|
| Third stanza
|
|
L'état comprime et la loi triche
L'impôt saigne le malheureux
Nul devoir ne s'impose au riche
Le droit du pauvre est un mot creux
C'est assez, languir en tutelle
L'égalité veut d'autres lois
Pas de droits sans devoirs dit-elle
Egaux, pas de devoirs sans droits
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|
|
The state strangles and the law cheats,
The taxes bleed the disadvantaged in society.
The rich do not shoulder any responsibility;
The rights of the poor is an empty word.
It is enough to decay in servitude,
Equality needs other laws!
No rights without duty, she says,
Conversely, no duty without rights.
|: It is the final struggle
Let us gather, and tomorrow
The Internationale
Will be mankind! :|
|
| Fourth stanza
|
|
Hideux dans leur apothéose
Les rois de la mine et du rail
Ont-ils jamais fait autre chose
Que dévaliser le travail
Dans les coffres-forts de la bande
Ce qu'il a créé s'est fondu
En décrétant qu'on le lui rende
Le peuple ne veut que son dû.
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|
|
Hideous, in their glory,
The kings of the mines and rail.
They have done nothing else,
But to steal others' work.
In the strongboxes of this band,
What we created are all in there!
In working for their restitution,
They only want their rightful due.
|: It is the final struggle
Let us gather, and tomorrow
The Internationale
Will be mankind! :|
|
| Fifth stanza
|
|
Les rois nous saoulaient de fumées
Paix entre nous, guerre aux tyrans
Appliquons la grève aux armées
Crosse en l'air, et rompons les rangs
S'ils s'obstinent, ces cannibales
A faire de nous des héros
Ils sauront bientôt que nos balles
Sont pour nos propres généraux
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|
|
The kings deceive us with their fumes,
Peace among ourselves, war to the tyrants!
Let us encourage strikes in the armies,
To wave their guns and disband their ranks!
If they insist, those cannibals,
To make heroes of us,
They will soon know our bullets,
Are for our own generals.
|: It is the final struggle
Let us gather, and tomorrow
The Internationale
Will be mankind! :|
|
| Sixth stanza
|
|
Ouvriers, paysans, nous sommes
Le grand parti des travailleurs
La terre n'appartient qu'aux hommes
L'oisif ira loger ailleurs
Combien, de nos chairs se repaissent
Mais si les corbeaux, les vautours
Un de ces matins disparaissent
Le soleil brillera toujours.
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|
|
Labourers, peasants, we are
The big party of workers
The earth belongs only to humans
The idle are going to live elsewhere
How much they feast on our flesh
But if the ravens and vultures
Would one morning all disappear
The sun would shine forever
|: It is the final struggle
Let us gather, and tomorrow
The Internationale
Will be mankind! :|
|
Lyrics used as national anthem in the early days of the Soviet Union
| Russian Translation |
Latin Transliteration
|
| First stanza
|
|
Вставай, проклятьем заклеймённый
Весь мир голодных и рабов
Кипит наш разум возмущённый
И в смертный бой вести готов.
Весь мир насилья мы разрушим
До основанья, а затем
Мы наш мы новый мир построим,
Кто был никем, тот станет всем!
|: Это есть наш последний
И решительный бой.
С Интернационалом
Воспрянет род людской :|
|
Vstavaj, prokljat'em zaklejmënnyj
Ves' mir golodnyh i rabov
Kipit naš razum vozmuščënnyj
I v smertnyj boj vesti gotov.
Ves' mir nasil'ja my razrušim
Do osnovan'ja, a zatem
My naš my novyj mir postroim,
Kto byl nikem, tot stanet vsem!
|: Èto est' naš poslednij
I rešitel'nyj boj.
S Internacionalom
Vosprjanet rod ljudskoj :|
|
| Second stanza
|
|
Никто не даст нам избавленья
Ни бог, ни царь и не герой
Добьёмся мы освобожденья
Своею собственной рукой.
Чтоб свергнуть гнёт рукой умелой,
Отвоевать своё добро -
Вздувайте горн и куйте смело,
Пока железо горячо!
|: Это есть наш последний
И решительный бой.
С Интернационалом
Воспрянет род людской :|
|
Nikto ne dast nam izbavlen'ja
Ni bog, ni car' i ne geroj
Dob'ëmsja my osvobožden'ja
Svoeju sobstvennoj rukoj.
Čtob svergnut' gnët rukoj umeloj,
Otvoevat' svoë dobro -
Vzduvajte gorn i kujte smelo,
Poka železo gorjačo!
|: Èto est' naš poslednij
I rešitel'nyj boj.
S Internacionalom
Vosprjanet rod ljudskoj :|
|
| Third stanza
|
Довольно кровь сосать, вампиры,
Тюрьмой, налогом, нищетой!
У вас - вся власть, все блага мира,
А наше право - звук пустой!
Мы жизнь построим по иному -
И вот наш лозунг боевой
Вся власть народу трудовому!
А дармоедов всех долой!
|: Это есть наш последний
И решительный бой.
С Интернационалом
Воспрянет род людской :|
|
Dovol'no krov' sosat', vampiry,
Tjur'moj, nalogom, niščetoj!
U vas - vsja vlast', vse blaga mira,
A naše pravo - zvuk pustoj!
My žizn' postroim po inomu -
I vot naš lozung boevoj
Vsja vlast' narodu trudvomu!
A darmoedov vseh doloj!
|: Èto est' naš poslednij
I rešitel'nyj boj.
S Internacionalom
Vosprjanet rod ljudskoj :|
|
English Translation
The traditonal British version of The Internationale is usually sung in 3 verses, while the American version is in two. The American version is sometimes sung with the line "the internationale", "the international working class", or "the international union" in place of "the international soviet." Billy Bragg also made a popular revision of the song, based on the British version. A full, 6-stanza translation can be found on the Wikisource page on The Internationale.
| British Translation |
Billy Bragg's Revision |
American version
|
| First stanza
|
|
Arise, ye workers from your slumber,
Arise, ye prisoners of want.
For reason in revolt now thunders,
and at last ends the age of cant!
Away with all your superstitions,
Servile masses, arise, arise!
We'll change henceforth the old tradition,
And spurn the dust to win the prize!
So comrades, come rally,
And the last fight let us face.
The Internationale,
Unites the human race.
So comrades, come rally,
And the last fight let us face.
The Internationale,
Unites the human race.
|
Stand up, all victims of oppression,
For the tyrants fear your might!
Don't cling so hard to your possessions,
For you have nothing if you have no rights!
Let racist ignorance be ended,
For respect makes the empires fall!
Freedom is merely privilege extended,
Unless enjoyed by one and all.
So come brothers and sisters,
For the struggle carries on.
The Internationale,
Unites the world in song.
So comrades, come rally,
For this is the time and place!
The international ideal,
Unites the human race.
|
Arise, you prisoners of starvation!
Arise, you wretched of the earth!
For justice thunders condemnation:
A better world's in birth!
No more tradition's chains shall bind us,
Arise you slaves, no more in thrall!
The earth shall rise on new foundations:
We have been nought, we shall be all!
'Tis the final conflict,
Let each stand in his place.
The international soviet
Shall free the human race
'Tis the final conflict,
Let each stand in his place.
The international soviet
Shall free the human race
|
| Second stanza
|
|
No more deluded by reaction,
On tyrants only we'll make war!
The soldiers too will take strike action,
They'll break ranks and fight no more!
And if those cannibals keep trying,
To sacrifice us to their pride,
They soon shall hear the bullets flying,
We'll shoot the generals on our own side.
So comrades, come rally,
And the last fight let us face.
The Internationale,
Unites the human race.
So comrades, come rally,
And the last fight let us face.
The Internationale,
Unites the human race.
|
Let no one build walls to divide us,
Walls of hatred nor walls of stone.
Come greet the dawn and stand beside us,
We'll live together or we'll die alone.
In our world poisoned by exploitation,
Those who have taken, now they must give!
And end the vanity of nations,
We've but one Earth on which to live.
So come brothers and sisters,
For the struggle carries on.
The Internationale,
Unites the world in song.
So comrades, come rally,
For this is the time and place!
The international ideal,
Unites the human race.
|
We want no condescending saviors
To rule us from their judgment hall,
We workers ask not for their favors
Let us consult for all:
To make the thief disgorge his booty
To free the spirit from its cell,
We must ourselves decide our duty,
We must decide, and do it well.
'Tis the final conflict,
Let each stand in his place.
The international soviet
Shall free the human race
'Tis the final conflict,
Let each stand in his place.
The international soviet
Shall free the human race
|
| Third stanza
|
|
No saviour from on high delivers,
No faith have we in prince or peer.
Our own right hand the chains must shiver,
Chains of hatred, greed and fear.
E'er the thieves will out with their booty,
And give to all a happier lot.
Each at the forge must do their duty,
And we'll strike while the iron is hot.
So comrades, come rally,
And the last fight let us face.
The Internationale,
Unites the human race.
So comrades, come rally,
And the last fight let us face.
The Internationale,
Unites the human race.
|
And so begins the final drama,
In the streets and in the fields.
We stand unbowed before their armour,
We defy their guns and shields!
When we fight, provoked by their aggression,
Let us be inspired by like and love.
For though they offer us concessions,
Change will not come from above!
So come brothers and sisters,
For the struggle carries on.
The Internationale,
Unites the world in song.
So comrades, come rally,
For this is the time and place!
The international ideal,
Unites the human race.
|
Chinese lyrics
The Internationale is titled as Guójìgē (国际歌 in simplified Chinese, 國際歌 in traditional Chinese), literally the International Song.
The most common and official Chinese version is the anthem of the Chinese Communist Party. It was translated from the Russian version by Qu Qiubai, a leader of the Chinese Communist Party in the late 1920s. His translation has transliterated the Internationale as Yīngtènàxióngnài'ěr (英特纳雄耐尔 in simplified Chinese, 英特納雄耐爾 in traditional Chinese) when singing the phrase in Mandarin. As he was killed by the Kuomintang in 1935, his Chinese translation is in the public domain wherever the duration of copyright is an author's lifetime plus 50 years, including China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. The meaning of the Chinese lyrics translated from Russian is somewhat different from the roughly corresponding French ones. See below.
Third, fourth, and fifth French stanzas are not normally sung in Chinese. Chinese translator Shen Baoji (沈宝基, 1908-2002) has made a complete Chinese translation, published in 1957, of all six French stanzas [1], but it is not as singable or official as Qu Qiubai's translation from Russian. Shen's translation has transliterated the Internationale as Yīngdāi'ěrnàxī'àonà'ěr (因呆尔那西奥纳尔 in simplified Chinese) in the stanzas, different from Qu's transliteration.
The song was a rallying anthem of the demonstrators at the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989, and was repeatedly sung both while marching to the Square and within the Square. "...many hundreds of people (not only students) appeared on the street. They ran after the trucks and shouted protest slogans. A few stones were thrown. The soldiers opened fire with live ammunition. The crowd threw themselves on the ground, but quickly followed the convoy again. The more shots were fired, the more the crowd got determined and outraged. Suddenly they started singing the Internationale; they armed themselves with stones and threw them towards the soldiers. There were also a few Molotov cocktails and the last truck was set on fire."[2]
Sources (in Chinese, English, machine translated) quoting a Hong Kong magazine suggest that on June 6, 2003, a memorandum issued by Zeng Qinghong, in his capacity as the head of the Chinese Communist Party Secretariat, ordered "no playing or singing of The Internationale in any provincial, city or county level Party or Party member meetings." This claim remains unverified and unreported in the mainstream English language media.
| Traditional Chinese |
Simplified Chinese |
Pinyin |
Literal English translation
|
| First stanza
|
|
起來，饑寒交迫的奴隸，
起來，全世界受苦的人！
滿腔的熱血已經沸騰，
要為真理而鬥爭！
舊世界打個落花流水，
奴隸們起來起來！
不要說我們一無所有，
我們要做天下的主人！
|: 這是最後的鬥爭，
團結起來到明天，
英特納雄耐爾
就一定要實現。 :|
|
起来，饥寒交迫的奴隶，
起来，全世界受苦的人！
满腔的热血已经沸腾，
要为真理而斗争！
旧世界打个落花流水，
奴隶们起来起来！
不要说我们一无所有，
我们要做天下的主人！
|: 这是最后的斗争，
团结起来到明天，
英特纳雄耐尔
就一定要实现。 :|
|
Qǐlái, jīhánjiāopò de núlì,
Qǐlái, quánshìjiè shòukǔ de rén!
Mǎnqiāng de rèxuè yǐjīng fèiténg,
Yào wèi zhēnlǐ ér dòuzhēng!
Jiù shìjiè dǎ gè luòhuāliúshuǐ,
Núlìmen, qǐlái!, qǐlái!
Bú yào shuō wǒmen yìwúsuǒyǒu,
Wǒmen yào zuò tiānxià de zhǔrén.
|: Zhè shì zuìhòu de dòuzhēng,
Tuánjié qǐlái, dào míngtiān,
Yīngtènàxióngnài'ěr
Jiù yídìng yào shíxiàn. :|
|
Arise, slaves pressured by starvation and coldness,
Arise, victimized people all over the world!
Full cavity of hot blood has boiled,
We shall struggle for true justice!
The old world shall be destroyed,
Slaves, arise, arise!
Do not say that we have nothing,
We want to be the masters of the world!
|: This is the final struggle,
Unite together toward tomorrow,
The Internationale
Shall definitely be realized. :|
|
| Second stanza
|
|
從來就沒有什麼救世主，
也不靠神仙皇帝。
要創造人類的幸福，
全靠我們自己！
我們要奪回勞動果實，
讓思想衝破牢籠。
快把那爐火燒的通紅，
趁熱打鐵才能成功！
|: 這是最後的鬥爭，
團結起來到明天，
英特納雄耐爾
就一定要實現。 :|
|
从来就没有什么救世主，
也不靠神仙皇帝。
要创造人类的幸福，
全靠我们自己！
我们要夺回劳动果实，
让思想冲破牢笼。
快把那炉火烧的通红，
趁热打铁才能成功！
|: 这是最后的斗争，
团结起来到明天，
英特纳雄耐尔
就一定要实现。 :|
|
Cónglái jiù méiyǒu shénme jiùshìzhǔ,
Yě bú kào shénxiān huángdì.
Yào chuàngzào rénlèi de xìngfú,
Quán kào wǒmen zìjǐ.
Wǒmen yào duóhuí láodòng guǒshí,
Ràng sīxiǎng chōngpò láolóng.
Kuài bǎ nà lúhuǒ shāo de tōnghóng,
Chènrèdǎtiě cái néng chénggōng.
|: Zhè shì zuìhòu de dòuzhēng,
Tuánjié qǐlái, dào míngtiān,
Yīngtènàxióngnài'ěr
Jiù yídìng yào shíxiàn. :|
|
There has never been whatever called world-saving lord,
Nor are God emperors depended on.
To create humans' well-being
Shall entirely depend on ourselves!
We shall get back the work results,
And let the mind set free from the prison cell.
Blow upon that furnace quickly,
Only striking the iron while it is hot will succeed!
|: This is the final struggle,
Unite together toward tomorrow,
The Internationale
Shall definitely be realized. :|
|
| Sixth stanza
|
|
是誰創造了人類世界？
是我們勞動群眾。
一切歸勞動者所有，
哪能容的寄生蟲！
最可恨那些毒蛇猛獸，
吃盡了我們的血肉。
一旦把他們消滅乾淨，
鮮紅的太陽照遍全球！
|: 這是最後的鬥爭，
團結起來到明天，
英特納雄耐爾
就一定要實現。 :|
|
是谁创造了人类世界？
是我们劳动群众。
一切归劳动者所有，
哪能容的寄生虫！
最可恨那些毒蛇猛兽，
吃尽了我们的血肉。
一旦把他们消灭干净，
鲜红的太阳照遍全球！
|: 这是最后的斗争，
团结起来到明天，
英特纳雄耐尔
就一定要实现。 :|
|
Shì shéi chuàngzào liǎo rénlèi shìjiè?
Shì wǒmen láodòng qúnzhòng.
Yíqiè guī láodòngzhě suǒyǒu,
Nǎnéng róngde jìshēngchóng!
Zuì kěhèn nàxiē dúshéměngshòu,
Chījìn liǎo wǒmen de xuèròu.
Yídàn bǎ tāmen xiāomiè gānjìng,
Xiānhóng de tàiyáng zhào biàn quánqiú.
|: Zhè shì zuìhòu de dòuzhēng,
Tuánjié qǐlái, dào míngtiān,
Yīngtènàxióngnài'ěr
Jiù yídìng yào shíxiàn. :|
|
Who created the humans' world?
These are us working people.
Everything is for workers,
How can parasites be accommodated!
We hate those poisonous snakes and savage beasts the most,
Eating up our flesh and blood.
Once they are entirely destroyed,
The freshly red sun will shine all over the globe!
|: This is the final struggle,
Unite together toward tomorrow,
The Internationale
Shall definitely be realized. :|
|
In addition to Mandarin version, the Internationale also has Cantonese [3] and Taiwanese [4] versions, occasionally used in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but the word "Internationale" is not translated in either version.
See also
External links
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
