La Chanson de Craonne (in French pronounced as /la ʃɑ̃sɔ̃ də kʁa(ɔ)n/; English: The Song of Craonne) is an anti-military song of World War I written in 1917. The song was written to the tune of Bonsoir M'Amour (Charles Sablon), sung by Emma Liebel. It is sometimes known by the first line of the chorus, Adieu la vie (Goodbye to life).
This song was sung by the French soldiers who mutinied (in sixty eight of the one hundred and ten divisions of the French Army) after the costly and militarily disastrous offensive of General Robert Nivelle at the Chemin des Dames, spring 1917.
The song was prohibited in France until 1974. Even though an award of 1 million francs and the immediate honorable release from the army were offered for revealing the maker, the original author of the song remained unknown.
These revolts brought about severe reprimands, notably by General Philippe Pétain, who was named on 17 May as the replacement for General Nivelle. He was directly tasked with the mission of rebuilding the sagging morale of the war-weary French Army. He went about this with the punishment of the leaders of the mutiny, condemning 554 to death, though only 26 were actually executed.[1] He also improved conditions of the soldiers with better food, better cantonments, better organization for military leaves, and suspended the deadly offensives to limit the casualties.
This song was anonymously created, though surely by many authors. The song constantly evolved during the course of the war due to the changing role of those engaged in combat. The song first appeared under the name La Chanson de Lorette evoking the Battle of Lorette à Ablain-St. Nazaire that occurred between the twelve months of October 1914 and October 1915. The song was modified in order to sing about the Second Battle of Champagne. In 1916, the song was sung during the ghastly Battle of Verdun, with the refrain:Adieu la vie, adieu l'amour, Adieu toutes les femmesC'est pas fini, c'est pour toujoursDe cette guerre infâmeC'est à Verdun, au fort de VauxQu'on a risqué sa peau
Verses
| FrenchQuand au bout d'huit jours le r'pos terminéOn va reprendre les tranchées,Notre place est si utileQue sans nous on prend la pileMais c'est bien fini, on en a assezPersonne ne veut plus marcherEt le cœur bien gros, comm' dans un sanglotOn dit adieu aux civ'lotsMême sans tambours, même sans trompettesOn s'en va là-haut en baissant la tête - Refrain :Adieu la vie, adieu l'amour,Adieu toutes les femmesC'est bien fini, c'est pour toujoursDe cette guerre infâmeC'est à Craonne sur le plateauQu'on doit laisser sa peauCar nous sommes tous condamnésC'est nous les sacrifiés Huit jours de tranchée, huit jours de souffrancePourtant on a l'espéranceQue ce soir viendra la r'lèveQue nous attendons sans trêveSoudain dans la nuit et le silenceOn voit quelqu'un qui s'avanceC'est un officier de chasseurs à piedQui vient pour nous remplacerDoucement dans l'ombre sous la pluie qui tombeLes petits chasseurs vont chercher leurs tombes - Refrain - C'est malheureux d'voir sur les grands boulevardsTous ces gros qui font la foireSi pour eux la vie est rosePour nous c'est pas la même choseAu lieu d'se cacher tous ces embusquésFeraient mieux d'monter aux tranchéesPour défendre leur bien, car nous n'avons rienNous autres les pauv' purotinsTous les camarades sont enterrés làPour défendr' les biens de ces messieurs là - Refrain :Ceux qu'ont le pognon, ceux-là reviendrontCar c'est pour eux qu'on crèveMais c'est fini, car les trouffionsVont tous se mettre en grèveCe s'ra votre tour messieurs les grosDe monter sur l'plateauCar si vous voulez faire la guerrePayez-la de votre peau |
English
| When at the end of a week's leaveWe're going to go back to the trenches,Our place there is so usefulThat without us we'd take a thrashing.But it's all over now, we've had it up to here,Nobody wants to march anymore.And with hearts downcast, like when you're sobbingWe're saying good-bye to the civilians,Even if we don't get drums, even if we don't get trumpetsWe're leaving for up there with lowered head. Good-bye to life, good-bye to love,Good-bye to all the women,It's all over now, we've had it for goodWith this awful war.It's in Craonne up on the plateauThat we're leaving our skins,'Cause we've all been sentenced to die.We're the ones that they're sacrificing Eight days in the trenches, eight days of suffering,And yet we still have hopeThat tonight the relief will comeThat we keep waiting for.Suddenly in the silent nightWe hear someone approachIt's an infantry officerWho's coming to take over from us.Quietly in the shadows under a falling rainThe poor soldiers are going to look for their graves Good-bye to life, good-bye to love,Good-bye to all the women,It's all over now, we've had it for goodWith this awful war.It's in Craonne up on the plateauThat we're leaving our hides'Cause we've all been sentenced to die.We're the ones that they're sacrificing On the grands boulevards it's hard to lookAt all the rich and powerful whooping it upFor them life is goodBut for us it's not the sameInstead of hiding, all these shirkersWould do better to go up to the trenchesTo defend what they have, because we have nothingAll of us poor wretchesAll our comrades are being buried thereTo defend the wealth of these gentlemen here Those who have the dough, they'll be coming back,'Cause it's for them that we're dying.But it's all over now, 'cause all of the gruntsAre going to go on strike.It'll be your turn, all you rich and powerful gentlemen,To go up onto the plateau.And if you want to make war,Then pay for it with your own skins. |
After the war this song was not allowed at all on French airwaves. The writer Paul Vaillant-Couturier, who was also a World War I veteran, preserved the song, and later had it published.
The song's chorus is sung in Oh! What a Lovely War (1969).The song is sung by a soldier in A Very Long Engagement (2004).