"" (pronounced as /fr/; French: "It'll be fine") is an emblematic song of the French Revolution, first heard in May 1790.[1] It underwent several changes in wording, all of which used the title words as part of the refrain.
The author of the original words "" was a former soldier by the name of Ladré who made a living as a street singer.
The music is a popular contredanse air called "Le carillon national", and was composed by Bécourt, a violinist (according to other sources: side drum player) of the théâtre Beaujolais. Queen Marie Antoinette herself is said to have often played the music on her harpsichord.[2]
The title and theme of the refrain were inspired by Benjamin Franklin, who was very popular among the French people following his stay as a representative of the Continental Congress from 1776 to 1785. When asked about the American Revolutionary War, he would reportedly reply, in somewhat broken French, "" ("It'll be fine, it'll be fine").[3]
The song first became popular as a worksong during the preparation for the Fête de la Fédération of 1790 and eventually became recognized as an unofficial anthem of revolutionaries.[4]
| It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fineIn spite of the mutineers everything shall succeed. Our enemies, confounded, stay petrifiedAnd we shall sing AlleluiaAh ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fineWhen Boileau spoke of the clergyLike a prophet he predicted this.By singing my little songWith pleasure, people shall say,Ah | It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine. According to the precepts of the GospelOf the lawmaker everything shall be accomplishedHe who exalts himself shall be humbledHe who is humble shall be exaltedThe true catechism shall instruct usAnd the awful fanaticism shall be snuffed out.At being obedient to LawEvery Frenchman shall trainAh ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine. Pierrette and Margot sing the guinguetteLet us rejoice, good times will come | The French people used to keep silent,The aristocrat says, "Mea culpa!"The clergy regrets its wealth,Through justice, the nation will have it.Thanks to the careful Lafayette,Everyone will calm down. Ah | It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fineBy the torches of the august assembly,Ah ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fineAn armed people will always take care of themselves.We'll know right from wrong,The citizen will support the Good. Ah | It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fineWhen the aristocrat shall protest,The good citizen will laugh in his face,Without troubling his soul,And will always be the stronger. Small ones and great ones all have the soul of a soldier,During war none shall betray.With heart all good French people will fight,If he sees something fishy he shall speak with courage.Lafayette says "come if you will!"Without fear for fire or flame,The French always shall win |
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At later stages of the revolution, many sans-culottes used several much more aggressive stanzas, calling for the lynching of the nobility and the clergy.
Si on n' les pend pasOn les rompraSi on n' les rompt pasOn les brûlera.Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça irales aristocrates à la lanterne!Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça irales aristocrates on les pendra!
Nous n'avions plus ni nobles, ni prêtres,Ah ! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira,L'égalité partout régnera.L'esclave autrichien le suivra,Ah ! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira,Et leur infernale cliqueAu diable s'envolera.Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça irales aristocrates à la lanterne!Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça irales aristocrates on les pendra!Et quand on les aura tous pendusOn leur fichera la paille au cul,Imbibée de pétrole, vive le son, vive le son,Imbibée de pétrole, vive le son du canon.
If we don't hang themWe'll break themIf we don't break themWe'll burn themAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be finearistocrats to the lamp-postAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be finethe aristocrats, we'll hang them!
We shall have no more nobles nor priestsAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fineEquality will reign everywhereThe Austrian slave shall follow himAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fineAnd their infernal cliqueShall go to hellAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be finearistocrats to the lamp-postAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be finethe aristocrats, we'll hang them!And when we'll have hung them allWe'll stick straw up their arse,Soaked in oil, long live the sound, long live the sound,Soaked in oil, long live the sound of the canon.
The song survived past the Reign of Terror. It was forbidden in 1797 under the Directory.
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 "" (the colonel commenting that he would "beat the French to their own damned tune"). The regiment was later awarded the tune as a battle honour and regimental quick march. It has since been adopted by the Yorkshire Regiment.[5]
Friedrich Witt cited this motif in the Finale of his Symphony no. 16 in A major. Although the year of its completion is unknown, it's clear that it was written in the 1790s.
Carl Schurz, in volume 1, chapter 14, of his Reminiscences, reported from exile in England that upon Napoleon III's 1851 French coup d'état, "Our French friends shouted and shrieked and gesticulated and hurled opprobrious names at Louis Napoleon and cursed his helpers, and danced the Carmagnole and sang ''."
Russian composer Nikolai Myaskovsky used both "" and La Carmagnole in the finale of his Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor Revolutionary.
An alternative "sans-culotte"-like version was sung by Édith Piaf for the soundtrack of the film Royal Affairs in Versailles (Si Versailles m'était conté) (1954) by Sacha Guitry.
The song is featured in the 1999 television series The Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Richard E. Grant. There the lyrics are sung in English as follows:
The Edith Piaf version (1953) features in the opening scenes of Ridley Scott’s 2023 film ‘Napoleon.’
In an opening scene of the novel What Is to Be Done? by Nikolay Chernyshevsky, the protagonist Vera Pavlovna is shown singing a song with ça ira in the refrain, accompanied by a paraphrase outlining the struggle for a socialist utopian future. The 1875 French translator "A.T." produced a four-stanza version on the basis of the paraphrase, which was reproduced in full by Benjamin Tucker in his translation.[6]
The heavy metal band Gojira alongside French-Swiss mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti played a version of the song at the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Paris, France, on 26 July 2024. Their performance took place from the windows of the Conciergerie and included depictions of a decapitated Marie Antoinette.[7]