The Internationale

"The Internationale" (French: "L'Internationale") is a left-wing anthem. It has been a standard of the socialist movement since the late nineteenth century, when the Second International adopted it as its official anthem. The title arises from the "First International", an alliance of workers which held a congress in 1864. The author of the anthem's lyrics, Eugène Pottier, an anarchist, attended this congress.

The original French refrain of the song is C'est la lutte finale / Groupons-nous et demain / L'Internationale / Sera le genre humain. (English: "This is the final struggle / Let us group together and tomorrow / The Internationale / Will be the human race."). "The Internationale" has been translated into many languages.

"The Internationale" has been celebrated by anarchists, communists, socialists, democratic socialists, and social democrats.

Copyright

The original French words were written in June 1871 by Eugène Pottier (1816–1887, previously a member of the Paris Commune) and were originally intended to be sung to the tune of "La Marseillaise". In 1888 Pierre De Geyter (1848–1932) set the earlier lyrics to a new melody, composed especially for Pottier's lyrics. De Geyter's melody was first publicly performed in July 1888, and soon thereafter Pottier's lyrics became closely associated with, and widely used with, De Geyter's new melody. Thus "The Internationale" gained an identity that was entirely distinct, and no longer in any way directly tied to the French national anthem, the Marseillaise.

In a successful attempt to save Pierre De Geyter's job as a woodcarver, the 6,000 leaflets printed by Lille printer Bolboduc only mentioned the French version of his family name (Degeyter). In 1904, Pierre's brother Adolphe was induced by the Lille mayor Template:Ill to claim copyright, so that the income of the song would continue to go to Delory's French Socialist Party. Pierre De Geyter lost the first copyright case in 1914, but after his brother committed suicide and left a note explaining the fraud, Pierre was declared the copyright owner by a court of appeal in 1922.

In 1972 "Montana Edition", owned by Template:Ill, bought the rights to the song for 5,000 Deutschmark, first for the territory of the former West Germany, then in the former East Germany, then worldwide. East Germany paid Montana Edition 20,000 DM every year for its rights to play the music. Pierre De Geyter died in 1932, causing the copyrights to expire in 2002. Luckhardt's German text is public domain since 1984.

As the "Internationale" music was published before 1 July 1909 outside the United States of America, it is in the public domain in the United States. As of 2013, Pierre De Geyter's music is also in the public domain in countries and areas whose copyright durations are authors' lifetime plus 80 years or less. Due to France's wartime copyright extensions (prorogations de guerre), SACEM claimed that the music was still copyrighted in France until October 2014.

As Eugène Pottier died in 1887, his original French lyrics are in the public domain. Gustave Delory once acquired the copyright of his lyrics through the songwriter G B Clement having bought it from Pottier's widow.

Original lyrics

French

Literal English translation

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 Foule esclave, debout, debout Le monde va changer de base Nous ne sommes rien, soyons tout Chorus C'est la lutte finale Groupons-nous, et demain L'Internationale Sera le genre humain. 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. Chorus 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 Égaux, pas de devoirs sans droits. Chorus 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. Chorus 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 À faire de nous des héros Ils sauront bientôt que nos balles Sont pour nos propres généraux. Chorus 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. Chorus

Stand up, damned of the Earth Stand up, prisoners of starvation Reason thunders in its volcano This is the eruption of the end. Of the past let us make a clean slate Enslaved masses, stand up, stand up. The world is about to change its foundation We are nothing, let us be all. Chorus This is the final struggle Let us group together, and tomorrow The Internationale Will be the human race. There are no supreme saviours Neither God, nor Caesar, nor tribune. Producers, let us save ourselves, Decree the common salvation. So that the thief expires, So that the spirit be pulled from its prison, Let us fan our forge ourselves Strike the iron while it is hot. Chorus The State oppresses and the law cheats. Tax bleeds the unfortunate. No duty is imposed on the rich; The rights of the poor is an empty phrase. Enough languishing in custody! Equality wants other laws: No rights without duties, she says, Equally, no duties without rights. Chorus Hideous in their apotheosis The kings of the mine and of the rail. Have they ever done anything other Than steal work? Inside the safeboxes of the gang, What work had created melted. By ordering that they give it back, The people want only their due. Chorus The kings made us drunk with fumes, Peace among us, war to the tyrants! Let the armies go on strike, Stocks in the air, and break ranks. If they insist, these cannibals On making heroes of us, They will know soon that our bullets Are for our own generals. Chorus Workers, peasants, we are The great party of labourers. The earth belongs only to men; The idle will go to reside elsewhere. How much of our flesh have they consumed? But if these ravens, these vultures Disappear one of these days, The sun will still shine forever. Chorus

Translations into other languages

Russian lyrics

Template:Infobox anthem The Russian version was initially translated by Arkady Kots in 1902 and printed in London in Zhizn, a Russian émigré magazine. The first Russian version consisted of three stanzas (as opposed to six stanzas in the original French lyrics, and based on stanzas 1, 2 and 6) and the refrain. After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the text was slightly re-worded to get rid of "now useless" future tenses – particularly the refrain was reworded (the future tense was replaced by the present, and the first person plural possessive pronoun was introduced). In 1918, the chief-editor of Izvestia, Yuri Steklov, appealed to Russian writers to translate the other three stanzas and in the end, the song was expanded into six stanzas. In 15 March 1944, the Soviet Union adopted the "Hymn of the Soviet Union" as its national anthem. Prior to that time, "The Internationale" served as the principal musical expression of allegiance to the ideals of the October Revolution and the Soviet Union (the "Internationale" continued to be recognized as the official song of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the post-1919 Soviet version is still used by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation). The full song is as follows:

Romanization

Literal English translation

Vstavaj, prokljatjem zaklejmjonnyj, Vesj mir golodnyh i rabov! Kipit naš razum vozmušcjonnyj I v smertnyj boj vesti gotov. Vesj mir nasiljja my razrušim Do osnovanjja, a zatem My naš, my novyj mir postroim, – Kto byl ničem, tot stanet vsem. Pripev: Eto jestj naš poslednij I rešiteljnyj boj; S Internacionalom vosprjanet rod ljudskoj! Nikto ne dast nam izbavlenjja: Ni bog, ni carj i ne geroj! Dobjjomsja my osvoboždenjja Svojeju sobstvennoj rukoj. Čtob svergnutj gnjot rukoj umeloj, Otvojevatj svojo dobro, – Vzduvajte gorn i kujte smelo, Poka železo gorjačo! Pripev Dovoljno krovj sosatj, vampiry, Tjurjmoj, nalogom, nišcetoj! U vas — vsja vlastj, vse blaga mira, A naše pravo — zvuk pustoj! My žiznj postroim po-inomu – I vot naš lozung bojevoj: Vsja vlastj narodu trudovomu! A darmojedov vseh doloj! Pripev Prezrenny vy v svojom bogatstve, Uglja i stali koroli! Vy vaši trony, tunejadcy, Na naših spinah vozveli. Zavody, fabriki, palaty – Vsjo našim sozdano trudom. Pora! My trebujem vozvrata Tovo, čto vzjato grabežom. Pripev Dovoljno koroljam v ugodu Durmanitj nas v čadu vojny! Vojna tiranam! Mir Narodu! Bastujte, armii syny! Kogda ž tirany nas zastavjat V boju gerojski pastj za nih – Ubijcy, v vas togda napravim my žerla pušek bojevyh! Pripev Lišj my, rabotniki vsemirnoj Velikoj armii truda, Vladetj zemljoj imejem pravo, No parazity — nikogda! I jesli grom velikij grjanet Nad svoroj psov i palačej, – Dlja nas vsjo tak že solnce stanet sijatj ognjom svoih lučej. Pripev

Stand up, ones who are branded by the curse, All the world's starving and enslaved! Our outraged minds are boiling, Ready to lead us into a deadly fight. We will destroy this world of violence Down to the foundations, and then We will build our new world. He who was nothing will become everything! Refrain: This is our final and decisive battle; With the Internationale humanity will rise up! No one will grant us deliverance, Not god, nor tsar, nor hero. We will win our liberation, With our very own hands. To throw down oppression with a skilled hand, To take back what is ours – Fire up the furnace and hammer boldly, while the iron is still hot! Refrain You've sucked enough of our blood, you vampires, With prison, taxes and poverty! You have all the power, all the blessings of the world, And our rights are but an empty sound! We'll make our own lives in a different way – And here is our battle cry: All the power to the people of labour! And away with all the parasites! Refrain Contemptible you are in your wealth, You kings of coal and steel! You had your thrones, parasites, At our backs erected. All the factories, all the chambers – All were made by our hands. It's time! We demand the return Of that which was stolen from us. Refrain Enough of the will of kings Stupefying us into the haze of war! War to the tyrants! Peace to the people! Go on strike, sons of the army! And if the tyrants tell us To fall heroically in battle for them – Then, murderers, we will point The muzzles of our cannons at you! Refrain Only we, the workers of the worldwide Great army of labour, Have the right to own the land, But the parasites — never! And if the great thunder rolls Over the pack of dogs and executioners, For us, the sun will forever Shine on with its fiery beams. Refrain

|title = "The Internationale" |alt_title = L'Internationale (French) |image = L'Internationale.jpg |image_size = |caption = "L'Internationale", original French version |prefix = International

|country =

• The Communist movement,
• The Anarchist movement,
• The Socialist movement,
• The Democratic Socialist movement,
• The Social Democratic movement

|author = Eugène Pottier |lyrics_date = 1871 |composer = Pierre De Geyter |music_date = 1888 |adopted = 1890s |until = |sound = Internationale orchestral arrangement.ogg |sound_title = "The Internationale" (instrumental)