Le Boudin: Difference between revisions

"'''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.

[[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.]]

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 Algérie: 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", 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"/>

"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>

*The song is sung by the depleted half-company of Legionnaires in [[P. C. Wren]]'s classic novel ''[[Beau Geste]]'' when the tiny garrison fool the besieging [[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 byin 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.

:Pour les Belges yil n'y en a plus.

:Pour les Belges yil n'y en a plus.

:Pour les Belges yil n'y en a plus.

:Pour les Belges yil n'y en a plus.

:À [[Siege of Tuyên Quang|Tuyen-Quang]] illustraillustré notre drapeau,

:Hey, here's ablood meal o' wurstsausage, here's ablood meal o' wurstsausage, here's ablood meal o' wurstsausage,

:For the [[Alsace|AlsatianAlsatians]], the [[Switzerland|Swiss]], and the [[Lorraine|Lorrains]] troops,

:For the [[Belgium|Belgians]], ain'tthere nois morenone left,

:For the Belgians, ain'tthere nois morenone left,

:For the Belgians, ain'tthere nois morenone left,

:For the Belgians, ain'tthere nois morenone left,

:We often sinkhave intoour a funkcockroach, [dark moods]

:Honoured our flag at [[Siege of Tuyên Quang|Tuyen Quang]]. [illustré - illustrious translated as honoured]

:Heroes of [[Battle of Camaron|Camarón]] and exemplarymodel brothers

:We will all know how to perish

:According toFollowing tradition.

:Let us forget, along with our hardshipssorrows,

:Death, whowhich forgets us so little.