Bastille Day!
La Fête Nationale de la France
le 14 juillet 2006
Yes, it’s July 14th, Bastille Day. My apologies to the French if I have mangled any of the above wording. My ability to do "survival French" is fading.
Since I was in France for the Bicentennial of the Revolution in July of 1989, I have since then in small ways paid mind to this date. Usually, I end up turning up the volume when public radio plays La Marseillaise. Other than that: I might buy a baguette or croissant, try to have a glass of French wine, or just reminisse of the several weeks of traipsing through the middle of France during ‘89. I miss the "snacks" of a local cheese on fresh bread and of course, the glass or two of wine. (IMHO, even the "cheap" wines there were so good!)
As I was either humming or whistling the tune of La Marseillaise today at work, I didn’t remember or even know any of the words to that anthem. I searched a bit and saw that there are several translations. I’ll post one of those here. Man, we mustn’t forget the intensity of that very bloody revolution that overthrew not only tyrannical monarchs and monarchial systems but also that of philosophies and cultures.
More on Bastille Day here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastille_Day
For fun, try your luck at hitting a cake: http://electricartists.com/frenchrev/game/ (There are some interesting history tid-bits as well).
La MarseillaiseClaude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, 1792
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(1) Arise children of the fatherland (R) To arms, citizens, (2) What do they want this horde of slaves (R) To arms, citizens, |
(3) What! These foreign cohorts (R) To arms, citizens, (4) Tremble, tyrants and traitors (R) To arms, citizens, (5) Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors (R) To arms, citizens, |
(6) Sacred love of the fatherland, (R) To arms, citizens, (7) We shall enter into the pit (R) To arms, citizens, |
