Ah, ça ira ! – 8-25-2012
| Ah, ça ira ! | |
| Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira | Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine |
| les aristocrates à la lanterne! | aristocrats to the lamp-post |
| Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira | Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine |
| les aristocrates on les pendra! | the aristocrats, we’ll hang them! |
| Si on n’ les pend pas | If we don’t hang them |
| On les rompra | We’ll break them |
| Si on n’ les rompt pas | If we don’t break them |
| On les brûlera. | We’ll burn them |
| Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira | Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine |
| les aristocrates à la lanterne! | aristocrats to the lamp-post |
| Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira | Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine |
| les aristocrates on les pendra! | the aristocrats, we’ll hang them! |
| Nous n’avions plus ni nobles, ni prêtres, | We have no more nobles nor priests |
| Ah ! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira, | Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine |
| L’égalité partout régnera. | Equality will reign everywhere |
| L’esclave autrichien le suivra, | The Austrian slave shall follow him |
| Ah ! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira, | Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine |
| Et leur infernale clique | And their infernal clique |
| Au diable s’envolera. | Shall go to hell |
| Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira | Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine |
| les aristocrates à la lanterne! | aristocrats to the lamp-post |
| Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira | Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine |
| les aristocrates on les pendra! | the aristocrats, we’ll hang them! |
| Et quand on les aura tous pendus | And when we’ll have hung them all |
| On leur fichera la pelle au cul | We’ll stick a shovel up their arse |
Post-revolutionary use
The song survived past the Reign of Terror, and, during the Directory, it became mandatory to sing it before shows. It was forbidden under the Consulate.
The ship of the line La Couronne was renamed Ça Ira in 1792 in reference to this song.
At the 1793 Battle of Famars, the 14th Regiment of Foot, The West Yorkshire Regiment, attacked the French to the music of Ça Ira. The regiment was later awarded the tune as a battle honour and regimental quick march. It has since been adopted by the Yorkshire Regiment.
Carl Schurz, in v. 1, ch. 14, of his Reminiscences., reported from exile in England that upon Napoleon III‘s coup d’état of 2 December 1851, “Our French friends shouted and shrieked and gesticulated and hurled opprobrious names at Louis Nap
Reference: Wikipedia : Ah! ça ira