The Internationale facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
"The Internationale"

"L'Internationale", original French version
International anthem of	anarchists, communists, socialists, social democrats, and democratic socialists
Also known as	L'Internationale (French)
Lyrics	Eugène Pottier, 1871
Music	Pierre De Geyter, 1888

"The Internationale" is a famous song that has been used by many groups around the world. These groups include anarchists, communists, and socialists. It became a very important song for the socialist movement in the late 1800s. The song's name comes from the "First International", which was a group of workers who met in 1864.

The words for the song were written by Eugène Edine Pottier in 1871. He was an anarchist and attended the 1864 meeting. Later, in 1888, Pierre De Geyter wrote the music for Pottier's words. "The Internationale" is one of the most translated songs in history.

French Version of the Song

The first words of "The Internationale" were written in French in June 1871. The writer was Eugène Edine Pottier, who had been part of the Paris Commune. At first, people sang his words to the tune of another French song called "La Marseillaise".

However, the music we usually hear today was created in 1888. Pierre De Geyter composed it for a choir in his hometown of Lille, France. The choir, called "La Lyre des Travailleurs" (The Workers' Lyre), first performed the song in July 1888. De Geyter was asked to write the music by the mayor of Lille, Gustave Delory.

Many lines from Pottier's lyrics became popular slogans. The song became very successful because of the strong and widespread Second International movement. Like the words, De Geyter's music was simple and easy to understand. This made it perfect for workers to sing.

Who Wrote the Music?

For a while, there was confusion about who wrote the music. To help Pierre De Geyter keep his job, early copies of the song only used his last name, "Degeyter". A later edition even wrongly named Pierre's brother, Adolphe, as the composer.

Pierre De Geyter had to go to court to prove he was the true composer. He finally won in 1922, when he was 74 years old. His brother Adolphe had died earlier, in 1916. Adolphe left a note saying that he had been tricked into claiming he wrote the music.

The copyright for Pierre De Geyter's music ended in 2002. This means anyone can now use or play the music without needing permission. The original French lyrics by Eugène Pottier are also free to use, as he died in 1887.

Different Translations

"The Internationale" has been translated into many languages from its original French. Some translations are very close to the original words. Others have been changed to fit different ideas or to talk about more current issues.

"The Internationale" in Russia

The song was translated into Russian by Arkady Kots in 1902. This first Russian version had only three verses and the chorus. After the October Revolution in Russia, the words were changed a little. This was to make them fit the new situation. In 1918, more verses were translated so the full song could be sung.

"The Internationale" became the national anthem of the Russian SFSR in 1918. It then became the anthem of the Soviet Union in 1922. It remained the Soviet Union's anthem until 1944. After that, the Soviet Union adopted a new national anthem.

The Song in Movies and Radio

The famous conductor Arturo Toscanini used "The Internationale" in a 1944 movie called Hymn of the Nations. This movie was made during World War II. Toscanini included "The Internationale" along with the national anthems of the United Kingdom and the United States. This showed the unity of the Allies during the war.

At first, some people didn't want "The Internationale" in the movie. But Toscanini insisted. He believed it was a song for all workers around the world, not just one country or party. He felt it represented an idea of brotherhood.

A similar situation happened earlier with the BBC radio show "National Anthems of the Allies". After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, people expected "The Internationale" to be played. But Winston Churchill, who was against communism, told the BBC not to play it. This caused a lot of debate. Eventually, Churchill changed his mind in 1942, and the song was allowed in wartime broadcasts and films.

For example, in 1943, a huge performance of "The Internationale" took place at the Royal Albert Hall. It featured many choirs and orchestras. The 1944 movie Tawny Pipit even showed schoolchildren singing it.

The song was also used in Soviet movies. For instance, in the 1936 film Girl Friends, it was played by a military band and on a theremin.

"The Internationale" in China

The song was translated into Chinese by Qu Qiubai in 1923. He did this after realizing that Chinese attendees at a meeting couldn't sing along with others. His translation became very important in China.

"The Internationale" became very popular in China in the 1950s. This was partly because many Soviet movies that featured the song were translated into Chinese. These included films like Lenin in October and Lenin in 1918.

Later, Chinese movies about heroes of the CCP also started using the song. It was often played during important scenes, like characters going to their execution. This made it a key part of Chinese revolutionary films.

Many CCP leaders and heroes, like Zhu De and Zhou Enlai, are linked to the song in their life stories. It shows their socialist beliefs. Even today, "The Internationale" is still seen as a very important song for the CCP. It has appeared in major Chinese films like The East Is Red (1964) and The Road to Prosperity (2009).

Interestingly, the song has been used by both the government and by people protesting against it. For example, protestors in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests sang it. This shows that a song can have different meanings to different groups of people.

There are also Cantonese, Taiwanese Hokkien, Uyghur, Tibetan, and Mongolian versions of "The Internationale" in China.

Other Translations

One of the first translations of the song was into Dutch around 1900. It was done by the poet Henriette Roland Holst. By 1910, the song had been translated into 18 different languages.

The English versions of "The Internationale" can vary. The traditional UK version usually has three verses. The American version, written by Charles Hope Kerr, often has five verses but is usually sung with only two. Sometimes, the English pronunciation of "Internationale" is changed to sound more English.

The first line of the song, "Debout, les damnés de la terre" (Stand up, wretched of the earth), has been translated differently. Some versions keep "stand up," while others use "wake up" or "arise."

During the Spanish Civil War, "The Internationale" was very important. Volunteers from many countries could all sing it together, each in their own language, but to the same tune.

In 1980, during talks about creating the Solidarity movement in Poland, something interesting happened. Workers watched government officials sing "The Internationale" on TV. In response, the workers started singing the national anthem of Poland. This showed a big shift in who was singing which song.

The Song in Books and Art

"The Internationale" has been mentioned in many other works. In George Orwell's book Animal Farm, the "anthem" sung by the animals is like a funny version of "The Internationale".

The Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky ended his play Mystery-Bouffe with an "Internationale of the Future". It used the same tune but had new words describing a perfect society without different social classes.

New English Versions

In 1989, musician Billy Bragg felt the traditional English lyrics were old-fashioned. So, he wrote a new set of lyrics for "The Internationale". He released his version on an album called The Internationale.

Other Language Translations

• Bengali: The first Bengali translation was by the poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
• Filipino: There are three Filipino versions. The first was translated from the English version. Later versions were re-translated from the French and Chinese.
• German: The most well-known German version was made by Emil Luckhardt in 1910. It is based on the first two and last verses of the French song. There are also at least seven other German versions.
• Kurdish: Poets like Kakay Falah and Rebwar translated the song into Kurdish.
• Korean: "The Internationale" is used in both North and South Korea. In North Korea, it's used in propaganda and at Party meetings. In South Korea, it's used by labor unions and protestors. There are two main Korean versions: a traditional one and a newer one.
• Persian: The Iranian poet Abolqasem Lahouti translated and standardized the song into Persian. It was used by the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic and the Tudeh Party of Iran.
• Portuguese: Neno Vasco translated the song into Portuguese in 1909. A similar version became very popular during a general strike in 1917.
• Sinhalese: A Sinhalese version called "Jātyantara Gītaya" was released in 1978. It was translated from the original French and German versions.
• Vietnamese: The founder of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, first translated the song into Vietnamese. The current Vietnamese lyrics were translated by later leaders of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Images for kids

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  Original French version

• Internationale orchestral arrangement.ogg

  The Internationale (instrumental)

• Internationale-ru.ogg

  The Internationale, Russian

See also

• List of socialist songs