The Internationale
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The Internationale (L'Internationale in French) is the most famous socialist song and one of the most widely recognized songs in the world. The original (French) words were written by Eugène Pottier (1816–1887) in 1871. Pierre Degeyter (1848–1932) set the poem to music in 1888. (It was originally intended to be sung to the tune of La Marseillaise.) It has been translated into scores of languages. Traditionally it is sung with the right hand raised in a clenched-fist salute.
In many European countries, the song was considered illegal around the beginning of the 20th century because of its 'communistic' image and government-undermining lyrics.
The Russian version served as the national anthem of the Soviet Union until 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 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.
In George Orwell's Animal Farm it is parodied by Beasts of England.
See also
- The Internationale, an album by Billy Bragg featuring Bragg's rewritten lyrics to the song.
External links
- Soul Flower Mononoke Summit Sings "The Internationale" in Japanese (downloadable)
- Extensive set of downloadable recordings, in many languages
da:Internationale (sang) de:Die Internationale eo:La Internacio (himno) es:La Internacional fi:Kansainvälinen fr:L'Internationale he:אינטרנציונל (המנון) hu:Internacionálé ja:インターナショナル (歌) ko:인터내셔널 ms:Internationale nl:Internationale sv:Internationalen zh-cn:国际歌 pl:Międzynarodówka (pieśń)
