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Ça Ira ([sai.ʁa]; French: "It'll be fine") is an emblematic song of theFrench Revolution, first heard in May 1790.[1] It underwent several changes in wording, all of which used the title words as part of therefrain.
The original words "Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira" were written by Ladré, a former soldier who made a living as a street singer.
The music is a popularcontredanse air called "Le carillon national", and was composed byJean-Antoine Bécourt [fr], a violinist (according to other sources:side drum player) of the théâtre Beaujolais. QueenMarie Antoinette herself is said to have often played the music on herharpsichord.[2]
The title and theme of the refrain were inspired byBenjamin Franklin, who was very popular among the French people following his stay as a representative of theContinental Congress from 1776 to 1785. When asked about theAmerican Revolutionary War, he would reportedly reply, in somewhat broken French, "Ça ira, ça ira" ("It'll be fine, it'll be fine").[3]
The song first became popular as a worksong during the preparation for theFête de la Fédération of 1790 and eventually became recognized as an unofficial anthem of revolutionaries.[4]
Ah ! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira | Ah ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine |
At later stages of the revolution, manysans-culottes used several much more aggressive stanzas, calling for the lynching of thenobility and the clergy.
Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
les aristocrates à la lanterne!
Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
les aristocrates on les pendra!
Si on n' les pend pas
On les rompra
Si on n' les rompt pas
On les brûlera.
Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
les aristocrates à la lanterne!
Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
les 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 clique
Au diable s'envolera.
Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
les aristocrates à la lanterne!
Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
les aristocrates on les pendra!
Et quand on les aura tous pendus
On leur fichera la paille au cul,
Imbibée de pétrole, vive le son, vive le son,
Imbibée de pétrole, vive le son du canon.
Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
aristocratsto the lamp-post
Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
the aristocrats, we'll hang them!
If we don't hang them
We'll break them
If we don't break them
We'll burn them
Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
aristocrats to the lamp-post
Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
the aristocrats, we'll hang them!
We shall have no more nobles nor priests
Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
Equality will reign everywhere
The Austrian slave shall follow him
Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
And their infernal clique
Shall go to the devil
Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
aristocrats to the lamp-post
Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
the aristocrats, we'll hang them!
And when we'll have hung them all
We'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 theReign of Terror. It was forbidden in 1797 under theDirectory.
Theship of the lineLa Couronne was renamedÇa Ira in 1792 in reference to this song.
At the 1793Battle of Famars, the 14th Regiment of Foot, theWest Yorkshire Regiment, attacked the French to the music of "Ça ira" (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 regimentalquick march. It has since been adopted by theYorkshire Regiment.[5]
Friedrich Witt cited thismotif in the Finale of hisSymphony no. 16 inA major. Although the year of its completion is unknown, it's clear that it was written in the 1790s.
Carl Schurz, involume 1, chapter 14, of hisReminiscences, reported from exile in England that uponNapoleon III's1851 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 theCarmagnole and sang 'Ça ira'."
Russian composerNikolai Myaskovsky used both "Ça ira" andLa Carmagnole in the finale of hisSymphony No. 6 in E-flat minorRevolutionary.
An alternative "sans-culotte"-like version was sung byÉdith Piaf for the soundtrack of the filmRoyal Affairs in Versailles (Si Versailles m'était conté) (1954) bySacha Guitry.
The song is featured in the 1999 television seriesThe Scarlet Pimpernel, starringRichard E. Grant. There the lyrics are sung in English as follows:
Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
Over in France there's a revolution
Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
Watch what you say or you'll lose your head
Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
Pass some time, see an execution!
Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
Une deux trois and you fall down dead
Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
Hear the tale of Marie Antoinette-a!
Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
A bloodier sight you have never seen!
The Edith Piaf version is featured in the opening scenes ofRidley Scott's 2023 filmNapoleon.
In an opening scene of the novelWhat Is to Be Done? byNikolay Chernyshevsky, the protagonist Vera Pavlovna is shown singing a song withça 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 byBenjamin Tucker in his translation.[6]
The2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Paris, France, was titled Ça Ira. As part of the ceremony,heavy metal bandGojira, alongside French-Swiss mezzo-sopranoMarina Viotti, played a version of the song. Officially named "Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)", their performance took place from the windows of theConciergerie and included depictions of a decapitatedMarie Antoinette.[7] This rendition of "Ça Ira" went on to win the award forBest Metal Performance at the67th Grammy Awards.[8]
