The Song That Inspired A Revolution
If national anthems are meant to encompass a nation's spirit, we can only guess what some anthems reveal about their nations. "Where slow you see the Alzette flow," begins the Luxembourg national anthem, "the Sura plays wild pranks." The Taiwanese anthem's opening line translates to: "The three principles of democracy our party does revere." "The Star-Spangled Banner, the US national anthem, took its tune from a popular British drinking song.
Australians were actually allowed to vote for their anthem in 1977, to find a replacement for the colonial remnant, "God Save the Queen". Nonetheless, it is difficult to find many Australians who will admit to liking their anthem (which proudly states that "Our home is girt by sea," whatever that means). Musical tastes change. Just as Australians have stopped buying Abba records since 1977, they seem to have lost interest in their national song.
Fortunately, some national anthems have won more lasting and universal acclaim. Take "La Marseillaise", which still stirs passion among French people (and others) after more than 200 years. The Beatles might have used its first line in the opening bars of "All You Need is Love" (which was something of a peace anthem), but its origins are somewhat less pacifistic. It's no surprise that the rousing French National Anthem, with its talk of flag-raising and blood flowing in veins, was written in 1792 for the French Revolution - but oddly, its authorship was possibly shared by one of the King's men (rather than a revolutionary) and an Austrian composer, who had fled his homeland to escape ANOTHER revolution.
"La Marseillaise" is credited to Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, a 31-year-old poet and soldier, who devised it as a patriotic song called "Chant de Guerre pour L'armie du Rhin" [War Song for the Rhine Army]. It was soon claimed by the other side, however. The Revolutionary army sang it, with slightly different lyrics, as they marched north to Paris from Marseilles (hence the new name). After the Revolution, Rouget de Lisle was imprisoned for his Royalist sympathies, and was still languishing in prison when his tune was adapted as the National Anthem in 1795.
Though we say "his" tune, he might have written only the lyrics. Musical scholars believe that the melody might have been written by an Austrian composer, Ignaz Joseph Pleyel, who moved to Paris around that time, and would spend his last years running a piano factory.
Like a great national hero, "La Marseillaise" has suffered over the centuries to earn its status. It was banned three times (under the empires of Napoleon and Napoleon III, and the during the German occupation of World War II). Yet, unlike most national anthems, its appeal goes beyond its home nation. According to legend, Confederate artillery Major John Pelham happily sang the song during the US Civil War Battle, in his victorious battle against the Army of the Potomac. The song was later adopted as the unofficial anthem for the new Soviet Union in 1917.
More recently, it has been deemed hawkish, and there has been a movement to replace it, or at least change the lyrics. However violent the sentiments, however, it has long been a song of national pride, retaining a certain power in times of both war and peace. If only all anthems could inspire such national pride...
Noivedya Juddery is a writer and journalist based in Australia. A member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre he is inspired by personal meditation and spirituality in his growing number of creative activities. He can be contacted via his
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