Maréchal, nous voilà !

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Maréchal, nous voilà !
English: Marshal, here we are!

Unofficial anthem of Vichy France
LyricsAndré Montagard, 1941
MusicKazimierz Oberfeld, 1933
Adopted1941
Relinquished1944
Preceded byLa Marseillaise
Succeeded byLa Marseillaise

Maréchal, nous voilà ! ("Marshal, here we are!") is a 1941 French song dedicated to Marshal Philippe Pétain. The lyrics were composed by André Montagard; its music was attributed to André Montagard and Charles Courtioux but actually plagiarized from a song composed for the 1933 musical La Margoton du battailon by Polish Jewish composer Kazimierz Oberfeld, who was deported to Auschwitz in 1945, where he was murdered.[1] Although La Marseillaise remained the official national anthem of the state, Maréchal, nous voilà ! was performed in many capacities unofficially as an alternative song for the public, being used as a popular song for events like sports and recreation.[2][3] However, the song never dispelled the use of "La Marseillaise" as the official anthem, and it remained the main hymn of the Vichy State and had official support among the Vichy government.[2] It had multiple performances during the Vichy France Era, often in a famous variation[clarification needed] by André Dassary [fr].

The refrain itself shows the growing cult of personality around Pétain during the Vichy regime.[4]

Lyrics[edit]

Maréchal, nous voilà!

(French)

Marshal, here we are!
(English translation)

Une flamme sacrée
Monte du sol natal,
Et la France enivrée
Te salue, Maréchal!

Tous tes enfants qui t’aiment
Et vénèrent tes ans,
À ton appel suprême
Ont répondu: Présent!

Chorus:
Maréchal, nous voilà!
Devant toi, le sauveur de la France,
Nous jurons, nous tes gars
De servir et de suivre tes pas.

Maréchal, nous voilà!
Tu nous as a redonné l'espérance
La patrie renaîtra,
Maréchal, Maréchal,
Nous voilà!

Tu as lutté sans cesse
Pour le salut commun
On parle avec tendresse
Du héros de Verdun…

En nous donnant ta vie,
Ton génie et ta foi,
Tu sauves la patrie
Une seconde fois.

Chorus

A sacred flame
Rises from the native soil,
And France enraptured
Greets you, Marshal!

All your children who love you
And worship your years,
To your supreme call,
Have responded: Present!

Chorus:
Marshal, here we are!
Before you, France's saviour,
We swear, we your people,
To serve and follow your feats

Marshal, here we are!
You regave us hope
The Fatherland will be reborn,
Marshal, Marshal,
Here we are!

You fought unceasingly
For the common salvation
We speak tenderly
About Verdun's hero...

By giving us your life,
Your genius and your faith,
You save the homeland
A second time.

Chorus

In popular culture[edit]

Cinema[edit]

Literature[edit]

  • In Pierre Cormon's novel Le Traître, the song plays regularly in a Cairo restaurant in 2002.

Comics[edit]

  • Maréchal, nous voilà by Laurent Rullier (script) and Hervé Duphot (drawing and color); volume II of the Les combattants series, Paris, Delcourt, 2012

Television[edit]

  • 1991: Les Chansons rétros, filmed sketch by Les Inconnus, parody.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ (in French) Nathalie Dompnier, « Entre La Marseillaise et Maréchal, nous voilà ! quel hymne pour le régime de Vichy ? », dans Myriam Chimènes (dir.), La vie musicale sous Vichy, Éditions Complexe – IRPMF-CNRS, coll. « Histoire du temps présent », 2001, p. 71
  2. ^ a b Fancourt, Daisy. "Anthems for France". Music and the Holocaust. ORT. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Pétain of Verdun, of Vichy, of History". New York Times. 15 November 1964. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Musée de la résistance en ligne". museedelaresistanceenligne.org. Retrieved 9 January 2024.

Bibliography[edit]

  • (in French) Nathalie Dompnier, « Entre La Marseillaise et Maréchal, nous voilà ! quel hymne pour le régime de Vichy ? », pp. 69–88 [1], in Myriam Chimènes (dir.), La vie musicale sous Vichy, Éditions Complexe – IRPMF-CNRS, coll. « Histoire du temps présent », 2001, 420 p. ISBN 2-87027-864-0 ISBN 978-2870278642
  • Maréchal, nous voilà ! mp3 recording (French)