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Famous military music: the 10 most famous military songs!
Military songs play an important role in the French army. Military songs go back a long way, to the Middle Ages. True patriotic songs, some are very famous and have been covered by well-known singers.
Do you know any military music, soldier? La Marseillaise, La Piémontaise, La Galette or La Blanche Hermine... If these names don't ring a bell, now's the time to discover them! Here are the 10 most famous military songs and their stories!
La Marseillaise: France's national anthem
There's no way you don't know La Marseillaise! This patriotic song was composed by Rouget de Lisle during the French Revolution. This revolutionary song was adopted not only by French revolutionaries, but also by resistance fighters the world over. La Marseillaise was designatedFrance' s definitivenational anthem on February 14, 1879.
Here is the chorus of the latest official version of La Marseillaise:
To arms, citizens,
Form your battalions,
Let's walk, let's walk!
That impure blood
Water our furrows!
La Strasbourgeoise: a military song of revenge
La Strasbourgeoise is a military song of revenge composed after the 1870 defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. Following this defeat, France lost Alsace-Moselle, and this loss inspired many songs, including La Strasbourgeoise. At the time, this music was not adopted by soldiers. It appeared more frequently during the First World War, before being forgotten until the 1960s. La Strasbourgeoise made a comeback in the 2000s and was officially introduced into the military musical repertoire.
Today, this song is sung a cappella. Two versions of this song exist: an original version and the military version. Here are the first stanzas of the military version of La Strasbourgeoise:
Little Daddy, it's mid-Lent,
For here you are disguised as a soldier
Little Daddy, tell me if you're joking,
Or to scare little children?
No, my child, I'm leaving for my homeland,
It's a duty where all the dads go,
Kiss me, little girl,
I'll be home soon (bis)
La Blanche Hermine: a Breton military band!
La Blanche Hermine is not strictly speaking a soldier's song. It was composed by singer Gilles Servat in 1970 to assert the Breton identity. The song quickly became a regional anthem in Brittany, calling for armed struggle against the French.
Here is an excerpt from this Breton song:
She'll have a hard time raising the kids
She'll be sorry because I'm going away for a long time
I'll come to the dark night as long as the war lasts
Like the women in black sad and alone she'll wait for me
La Légion Marche: song of the Foreign Legion
La Légion Marche is a military song adapted for the military march of the French Foreign Legion. It was adapted from the German military song SS marschiert in Feindesland (in French: la SS marche en territoire ennemi) in the late 1940s. The song has been taken up in many countries, including Spain and Norway. This military march is most often used by the 2nd foreign parachute regiment.
Here are some lyrics from this Foreign Legion song:
We are the men of the assault troops,
Soldiers of the old Legion
Tomorrow, waving our flags
In victory we march
We don't just have weapons
But the devil walks with us.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, For our Legion elders
Fighting over there, we follow suit.
We don't just have weapons
But the devil walks with us.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, For our Legion elders
Fighting out there, we're following suit
Adieu Vieille Europe: Foreign Legion music from a film
This music by the Foreign Legion was not created by this military troop! In fact, Adieu Vieille Europe is a film score from Wladimir Strijewsky's Le Sergent X, produced by Adolphe Osso and released in 1931. The film's synopsis is based on the story of a legionnaire who goes to Algeria, to Sidi-Bel-Abbès where the Legion's base is located.
In the wake of the film, the Foreign Legion decided to take up this military song, modifying the lyrics. Here is the chorus of the military song Adieu Vieille Europe:
We, the damned of the world
We, the wounded of all wars
We can't forget
A misfortune, a shame, a woman we adored.
We've got warm blood in our veins
Cockroach in the head, sorrow in the heart,
To receive, give the pins, name of name,
Fearless, on the road to the Legion
La Piémontaise: one of the oldest military songs
La Piémontaise is a military song that first appeared in the Italian countryside in the 18th century. It is also known as Mon Dieu Que J'en Suis à Mon Aise. The song was adopted by the 3rd infantry regiment (known during the Ancien Régime as the Régiment de Piémont).
Here are the first eight stanzas of this military song:
Oh God, how comfortable I am
When I have my crumb with me
From time to time I look at her
And I say kiss me. (encore)
How do you want me to kiss you
When people say bad things about you
They say you're off to war
In Piedmont, serving the King (bis)
Le Chant des Partisans: post-Libération military music
You may have studied it at school, but Le Chant des Partisans isone of the world's most famous military songs! This military song first appeared in the Resistance during the Second World War, earning it the nickname of the Marseillaise of the Resistance. Initially whistled on the radio, the melody soon became a veritable emblem of the Resistance during the Second World War. The original manuscript was smuggled to France and is now classified as a historical document.
Here is the first verse of the Chant des Partisans:
Ami, do you hear the black flight of crows on our plains,
Ami, do you hear the muffled cries of the land in chains,
Partisans, workers and peasants, it's the alarm!
Tonight the enemy will know the price of blood and tears.
Le Boudin: the official song of the French Foreign Legion
Did you know that the Foreign Legion has a different march? This military song is the reason! In fact, Le Boudin is the official marching song of the French Foreign Legion. Because of its slow rhythm, the troop must march at a rate of 88 steps per minute. Other regiments march at around 120 paces per minute. That's why the Legion marches first in official ceremonies and marches.
Here is an excerpt from the chorus of the song Le Boudin:
Here's some blood sausage, here's some blood sausage, here's some blood sausage
For Alsatians, Swiss and Lorrainers,
For the Belgians, there's more,
For the Belgians, there's more,
They're ass-shooters.
For the Belgians, there's more,
For the Belgians, there's more,
They're ass-shooters.
Ode to Joy: a poem for peace
The Ode to Joy is theofficial anthem of the European Union. It is not a military song, but a poem composed by the German composer Friedrich Schiller. The poem is a testament to human unity and brotherhood. A true ode to joy and freedom, it has been chosen as the official anthem of the European Union. It is also known as Hymn to Joy, and its original German title is An die Freude or Ode an die Freude.
Here is an extract from the anthem of the European Union:
Joy, beautiful divine spark,
Daughter of the assembly of gods,
We enter, drunk with fire, O heavenly, your sanctuary!
Your charms assemble
What, severely, fashions divide;
All humans become brothers, when your gentle wing unfolds.
La Galette: Saint-Cyr's military anthem
If you become a soldier, it's impossible not to know this military song! La Galette is a military song composed by Pierre Léon Bouisset in 1943. Designated as the military anthem of the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr, the song owes its name to the nickname of the blue epaulette worn by low-ranking officer cadets at the time. La Galette quickly became a tribute to low-ranking soldier-officers, and was designated the official anthem of this prestigious military school.
Here is an extract from La Galette, the official Saint-Cyr anthem:
Noble galette that is your name,
Be immortal in our history,
May he be ennobled by glory
From a valiant promotion,
And if in the future
Your name has just appeared
We might add
Our great memory
At Saint-Cyr
Where you looked so beautiful
The new promotion
Comes to bury you.
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