Wikipedia

Le Boudin: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Created link to other article.
m replacing {{IPA-fr| → {{IPA|fr| (deprecated template)
 
(41 intermediate revisions by 30 users not shown)
Line 1:
{{Short description|Official march song of the French Foreign Legion}}
"'''Le Boudin'''" ({{IPA-|fr|lə budɛ̃}}), officially '''"Marche de la Légion Étrangère"''' (English '''"March of the Foreign Legion"'''), is the official [[march (music)|march]] of the [[French Foreign Legion|Foreign Legion]]. "Le Boudin" is a reference to [[boudin]], a type of [[blood sausage]] or black pudding. "Le boudin" colloquially meant the gear (rolled up in a blanket) that used to be carried atop the backpacks of Legionnaires.
 
==Overview==
{{Main article|Honneur et Fidélité|Alsace-Lorraine|Swiss Guard}}
 
[[File:Légionnaire-Mexique.JPG|thumb|200px|right| Replica of a Legionnaire in 1863. His ''boudin'' is draped over the haversack on the floor to the right.]]
[[File:George Stevens with boudin.jpg|thumb|200px|rightleft| Sausage or ''boudin'' that gives the military item its name. ''Boudins'' are made in many colors, from off-white to dark reddish-black.]]
The song relates the Legion's feat of arms of the Legion in [[Siege of Tuyên Quang|TuyenTuyên Quang]] (1884-18851884–1885) and in [[Battle of Camarón|Camerone]] (1863), the date of which (April 30) is celebrated as the Legion's anniversary.▼
While the tune was composed prior to the Legion's [[French Intervention in Mexico|departure for Mexico]] in the 1860s the lyrics were progressively composed after the [[Franco-Prussian War]], since [[Alsace-Lorraine|Alsatians and Lorrains]] flocked to the legion after these regions were annexed by Germany.<ref name="Fischer">Fabienne Fischer, Alsaciens Et Lorrains En Algerie: Histoire D'Une Migration, 1830-1914, p.120 [https://books.google.com/books?id=L-AJ174uPtwC&pg=PA120]</ref> The song makes also repeated reference to the fact that the [[Belgium|Belgians]] are "lazy shirkers", this comes from the fact that the [[Leopold II of Belgium|King of the Belgians]], who wished to remain neutral in the Franco-German conflict, asked the French government to not commit the Belgian Legionnaires into the conflict. France agreed to this request and the Belgian Legionnaires remained in [[French Algeria]] (the Legion's home), to the dismay of the rest of the Legionnaires. This is why the song says that there's no blood sausage (boudin) for the Belgians. The song also mentions the Swiss who constituted the most important foreign contingent of the Legion in the 1870s.<ref name="Fischer"/>▼
 
▲While the tune was composed prior to the Legion's [[Second French Interventionintervention in Mexico|departure for Mexico]] in the 1860s, the lyrics were progressively composed after the [[Franco-Prussian War]], since [[Alsace-Lorraine|Alsatians and Lorrains]] flocked to the legion after thesethe regions were annexed by Germany.<ref name="Fischer">Fabienne Fischer, ''Alsaciens Et Lorrains En AlgerieAlgérie: Histoire D'Une Migration, 1830-19141830–1914'', p.120 [https://books.google.com/books?id=L-AJ174uPtwC&pg=PA120]</ref> The song makes also repeated reference to the fact that the [[Belgium|Belgians]] are "lazy shirkers", thiswhich comes from the fact that theBelgian King [[Leopold II of Belgium|KingLeopold of the BelgiansII]], who wished to remain neutral in the Franco-German conflict, asked the French government to not to commit the Belgian Legionnaires into the conflict. France agreed to this request, and the Belgian Legionnaires remained in [[French Algeria]], (the Legion's home), to the dismay of the rest of the Legionnaires. This is why theThe song thus says that there's is no blood sausage (''boudin'') for the Belgians. The song also mentions the Swiss who constituted the most important foreign contingent of the Legion in the 1870s.<ref name="Fischer"/>
▲The song relates the feat of arms of the Legion in [[Siege of Tuyên Quang|Tuyen Quang]] (1884-1885) and in [[Battle of Camarón|Camerone]] (1863), the date of which (April 30) is celebrated as the Legion's anniversary.
 
Another hypothesis suggests that because the Legion accepted no Frenchmen (hence the [[adjective]] in its name), a Frenchman wishing to join could do so only by pretending to be a (French-speaking) foreigner, a Belgian. Since a person wishing to remain [[anonymity|anonymous]] and lie about his identity often turned out to be a criminal wanting to evade the law and a prison sentence, and criminals rarely make the best soldiers, the "Belgians" ended up with a bad reputation.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}
 
==Presentation==
"Le Boudin" is sung while standing to attention or marching by all ranks of the French Foreign Legion. The Legion marches at only 88 steps per minute, much slower than the 120 steps per minute of all other French military units. Consequently, the Legion contingent at the [[Bastille Day military parade]] march brings up the rear. Nevertheless, the Legion gets the most enthusiastic response from the crowd.<ref name="Parade2012">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGSfdKxMhEQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/rGSfdKxMhEQ |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Foreign Legion July 14, 2012 |work=YouTube |date=2012-07-14 |accessdate=2015-04-24 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
 
==In films==
*The song is sung by the depleted half-company of Legionnaires in [[PCP. C. Wren]]'s classic novel ''[[Beau Geste]]'' when the tiny garrison fool the besieging Tauregs[[Tuaregs]] into thinking that they are still at full strength. The Hollywood versions of ''Beau Geste'' don't include this vital part of the story, but the [[Beau Geste (TV series)|1982 mini-series]] by the BBC stays true to the book and shows the soldiers singing the song.<ref name="Film2">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG-af5KBezI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/oG-af5KBezI |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Beau Geste BBC 1982 EP 7 - The Battle - Le Boudin |work=YouTube |accessdate=2015-04-24 |quote=Le Boudin is sung at 18:40 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*The 1978 film ''[[March or Die (film)|March or Die]]'' also features legionnaires singing the song, at the command of their officer Major Foster, played by Gene Hackman.<ref name="Hackman">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ0S9zfi7L8 |title=Major Foster orders the singing of "Le Boudin" |language=French |work=YouTube |accessdate=2015-04-26 }}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}}</ref>
*The song also appears in the 1998 film ''[[Legionnaire (film)|Legionnaire]]'' starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, though in this film the soldiers don't sing the song to its traditional tune.<ref name="film3">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld49Gmg340U |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Ld49Gmg340U |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=La Legion |website=[[YouTube]] |language=French |accessdate=2015-04-24 |quote=Le Boudin is sung twice in the first 2:05 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*In the [[Netflix]] series ''[[Undercover (2019 TV series)|Undercover]]'', part of this song is sung in the episode ''Legio Patria Nostra'' by Redwan, a former Legionnaire, in order to identify whether the main character, [[Bob Lemmens]] is really a Foreign Legionnaire or an imposter; to which Bob responds with correct lyrics.
*In the 2022 French-German experimental drama film ''[[Human Flowers of Flesh]]'' the song is sung in its entirety on the soundtrack while a legionnaire makes his bed.
 
==Lyrics==
{{Main article|Honneur et Fidélité|Alsace-Lorraine}}
 
{| class="wikitable"
Line 30 ⟶ 35:
:Tiens, voilà du boudin, voilà du boudin, voilà du boudin
:Pour les Alsaciens, les Suisses et les Lorrains.
:Pour les Belges il n'y en a plus.
:Pour les Belges il n'y en a plus.
:Ce sont des tireurs au cul.
:Pour les Belges il n'y en a plus.
:Pour les Belges il n'y en a plus.
:Ce sont des tireurs au cul.
'''1er couplet:'''
Line 44 ⟶ 49:
 
:Au [[Tonkin Campaign|Tonkin]], la Légion immortelle
:À [[Siege of TuyenTuyên Quang|Tuyen-Quang]] illustraillustré notre drapeau,
:Héros de [[Battle of Camaron|Camerone]] et frères modèles
:Dormez en paix dans vos tombeaux.
Line 66 ⟶ 71:
'''Chorus:'''
 
:Here you areHey, somehere's blood sausage, somehere's blood sausage, somehere's blood sausage,
:For the [[Alsace|Alsatians]], the [[Switzerland|Swiss]], and the [[Lorraine|Lorrains]],
:For the [[Belgium|Belgians]], there's is none left,
:For the Belgians, there's is none left,
:They're lazyare shirkers.lazy,
:For the Belgians, there's is none left,
:For the Belgians, there's is none left,
:They are lazy. [des tireurs au cul - literally: [[wiktionary:cul#French|ass]] [[wiktionary:tireur#French|shooters]]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Le Boudin |url=http://foreignlegion.info/songs/le-boudin/ |website=French Foreign Legion Info |accessdate=5 August 2020}}</ref>
:They're lazy shirkers.
 
'''1st verse:'''
:We are crafty.,
:We are rogues.,
:We are noNot ordinary guys.,
:We've often gothave our blackcockroach, [dark moods,]
:For weWe are Legionnaires.
 
:In [[Tonkin Campaign|Tonkin]], the Immortal Legion
:Honoured our flag at [[Siege of TuyenTuyên Quang|Tuyen Quang]]. [illustré - illustrious translated as honoured]
:Heroes of [[Battle of Camaron|Camarón]] and exemplarymodel brothers
:Sleep in peace in your tombs.
 
'''(Repeat Choruschorus)'''
 
'''2nd verse:'''
:Our ancestors knew how to die
:For the glory of the Legion.
:We will all know how to perish
:According to theFollowing tradition.
 
:During our far-off campaigns,
:Facing fever and fire,
:Let us forget, along with our hardshipssorrows,
:Death, which forgets us so little.
:(For) We (are), the Legion.
 
'''(Repeat Choruschorus)'''
|}
 
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Boudin"