Hi everyone, whilst cleaning my shelves this past semester, I stumbled upon many French books about the various wars they led, and it made me think of a song one of our teachers had made us listen to in primary school when reading a book by Boris Vian.
If you do not know Boris Vian, he was a writer, poet and lyricist of the early 20th century (1920-1959). The song I wanted to talk to you about is called ‘le Déserteur.’ It is sung from Vian’s perspective, and he basically calls out the French government and the French president at the end of the Indochina War.
One of the reasons I love this song is the story behind the last three lines he wrote. Originally they were ‘Et prévenez vos gendarmes, que je tiendrai une arme, et que je vais tirer,’ which means ‘And tell your officers, that I will be armed, and I will shoot.’ These lyrics were considered antipatriotic and antimilitarist and thus, were banned. However, singer Mouloudji decided to sing it in the 1950s, after modifying the lyrics, when the decision from the French government was to send 100,000 men to Algeria to suppress the insurrection. The new lyrics were then ‘Prévenez vos gendarmes, que je n’aurai pas d’armes, et qu’ils pourront tirer,’ which translates to ‘Tell your officers, that I won’t be armed, and that they will be allowed to shoot.’ This song was later used in the USA in antimilitary campaigns during the Vietnam War. I like this story for its rebellious significance and the message of peace it conveyed throughout the world in a time when peace was everything people wanted. I thought this story and this song were relevant for the climate of wars and fear we live in today, so I hope you enjoyed this little story, and I definitely recommend listening to the song!
