The Internationale

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.)

Related Topics:
French - Socialist - Anarchist - 1870 - Eugène Pottier - 1816 - 1887 - Paris Commune - Pierre Degeyter - 1848 - 1932 - 1888 - La Marseillaise

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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.

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In many European countries, the song was illegal around the beginning of the 20th century because of its communist image and government-undermining lyrics.

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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 CPSU. 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.

Related Topics:
Russian - National anthem - Soviet Union - 1917 - 1944 - Hymn of the Soviet Union - CPSU - 1902 - Stanza

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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.

Related Topics:
Communist - Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

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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.

Related Topics:
Hong Kong - June 6 - 2003 - Zeng Qinghong - Chinese Communist Party

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In George Orwell's Animal Farm, it is parodied by Beasts of England.

Related Topics:
George Orwell - Animal Farm - Parodied - Beasts of England

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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. 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)

Related Topics:
Copyright - 2014 - First World War - Second World War - 2005

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