Patriotism Redefined : La Marseillaise from Casablanca.... perhaps Cinemas greatest scene.... Patriotism Redefined

La Marseillaise is the French national anthem and it has a long history that speaks to the history of France itself. In both French and English, the song is a powerful and patriotic anthem that is known throughout the world.

If you are studying the French language, learning the words to La Marseillaise is definitely recommended. In this lesson, you will see a side-by-side translation from French to English that will help you understand its meaning and why it is so important to the people of France.

The Lyrics for La Marseillaise (L'Hymne national français)

La Marseillaise was composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792 and was first declared the French national anthem in 1795. There is much more to the song's story, which you can find below. First, however, let's learn how to sing La Marseillaise and understand the English translation of the lyrics.

• Rouget de Lisle originally wrote the first six verses. The seventh was added sometime later in 1792, according to the French government, though no one knows whom to credit for the last verse.
• It is typical that the refrain is repeated after each stanza.
• At public French performances today, including sporting events, you will often find that only the first verse and the refrain are sung.
• On occasion, the first, sixth, and seventh verses are sung. Again, the refrain is repeated between each.

French	English Translation by Laura K. Lawless
Verse 1: Allons enfants de la patrie, Le jour de gloire est arrivé ! Contre nous de la tyrannie L'étendard sanglant est levé ! (bis) Entendez-vous dans les campagnes, Mugir ces féroces soldats ? Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras Égorger nos fils, nos compagnes !	Verse 1: Let's go children of the fatherland, The day of glory has arrived! Against us tyranny's Bloody flag is raised! (repeat) In the countryside, do you hear The roaring of these fierce soldiers? They come right to our arms To slit the throats of our sons, our friends!
Refrain: Aux armes, citoyens ! Formez vos bataillons ! Marchons ! Marchons ! Qu'un sang impur Abreuve nos sillons !	Refrain: Grab your weapons, citizens! Form your battalions! Let us march! Let us march! May impure blood Water our fields!
Verse 2: Que veut cette horde d'esclaves, De traîtres, de rois conjurés ? Pour qui ces ignobles entraves, Ces fers dès longtemps préparés ? (bis) Français ! pour nous, ah ! quel outrage ! Quels transports il doit exciter ! C'est nous qu'on ose méditer De rendre à l'antique esclavage !	Verse 2: This horde of slaves, traitors, plotting kings, What do they want? For whom these vile shackles, These long-prepared irons? (repeat) Frenchmen, for us, oh! what an insult! What emotions that must excite! It is us that they dare to consider  Returning to ancient slavery!
Verse 3: Quoi ! ces cohortes étrangères Feraient la loi dans nos foyers ! Quoi ! ces phalanges mercenaires Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers ! (bis) Grand Dieu ! par des mains enchaînées Nos fronts sous le joug se ploiraient ! De vils despotes deviendraient Les maîtres de nos destinées !	Verse 3: What! These foreign troops Would make laws in our home! What! These mercenary phalanxes Would bring down our proud warriors! (repeat) Good Lord! By chained hands Our brows would bend beneath the yoke! Vile despots would become The masters of our fate!
Verse 4: Tremblez, tyrans ! et vous, perfides, L'opprobre de tous les partis, Tremblez ! vos projets parricides Vont enfin recevoir leur prix ! (bis) Tout est soldat pour vous combattre, S'ils tombent, nos jeunes héros, La France en produit de nouveaux, Contre vous tout prêts à se battre !	Verse 4: Tremble, tyrants! and you, traitors, The disgrace of all groups, Tremble! Your parricidal plans Will finally pay the price! (repeat) Everyone is a soldier to fight you, If they fall, our young heros, France will make more, Ready to battle you!
Verse 5: Français, en guerriers magnanimes, Portez ou retenez vos coups ! Épargnez ces tristes victimes, A regret s'armant contre nous. (bis) Mais ces despotes sanguinaires, Mais ces complices de Bouillé, Tous ces tigres qui, sans pitié, Déchirent le sein de leur mère !	Verse 5: Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors, Bear or hold back your blows! Spare these sad victims, Regretfully arming against us. (repeat) But not these bloodthirsty despots, But not these accomplices of Bouillé, All of these animals who, without pity, Tear their mother's breast to pieces!
Verse 6: Amour sacré de la patrie, Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs ! Liberté, Liberté chérie, Combats avec tes défenseurs ! (bis) Sous nos drapeaux, que la victoire Accoure à tes mâles accents ! Que tes ennemis expirants Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire !	Verse 6: Sacred love of France, Lead, support our avenging arms! Liberty, beloved Liberty, Fight with your defenders! (repeat) Under our flags, let victory Hasten to your manly tones! May your dying enemies See your triumph and our glory!
Verse 7: Nous entrerons dans la carrière Quand nos aînés n'y seront plus ; Nous y trouverons leur poussière Et la trace de leurs vertus. (bis) Bien moins jaloux de leur survivre Que de partager leur cercueil, Nous aurons le sublime orgueil De les venger ou de les suivre !	Verse 7: We will enter the pit When our elders are no longer there; There, we will find their dust And the traces of their virtues. (repeat) Much less eager to outlive them Than to share their casket, We will have the sublime pride Of avenging them or following them!

The History of La Marseillaise

On April 24, 1792, Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle was a captain of engineers stationed in Strasbourg near the Rhine River. The mayor of the town called for an anthem just days after the French declared war on Austria. The story says that the amateur musician penned the song in a single night, giving it the title of “Chant de guerre de l’armée du Rhin” (“Battle Hymn of the Army of the Rhine”).

Rouget de Lisle's new song was an instant hit with the French troops as they marched. It soon took on the name La Marseillaise because it was particularly popular with volunteer units from Marseille.

On July 14, 1795, the French declared La Marseillaise the national song.

As you may have noted in the lyrics, La Marseillaise has a very revolutionary tone. It is said that Rouget de Lisle himself supported the monarchy, but the spirit of the song was quickly picked up by revolutionaries. The controversy did not stop in the eighteenth century but has lasted over the years and the lyrics remain the subject of debate today.

• Napoleon banned La Marseillaise under the Empire (1804-1815).
• It was also banned in 1815 by King Louis XVIII.
• La Marseillaise was reinstated in 1830.
• Again, the song was banned during the rule of Napoleon III (1852-1870).
• La Marseillaise was once again reinstated in 1879.
• In 1887, an "official version" was adopted by France's Ministry of War.
• After the liberation of France during World War II, the Ministry of Education encouraged school children to sing La Marseillaise to "celebrate our liberation and our martyrs."
• La Marseillaise was declared the official national anthem in Article 2 of the 1946 and 1958 constitutions.

La Marseillaise is widely popular and it is not uncommon for the song to make an appearance in popular songs and movies. Most famously, it was used in part by Tchaikovsky in his "1812 Overture" (debuted in 1882). The song also formed an emotional and unforgettable scene in the 1942 classic film, "Casablanca."

Casablanca is widely remembered as one of the greatest films of all time, coming in at #2 on the AFI’s top 100 list and similarly regarded by many other critics. You can quibble with its exact rank, but it’s at least undeniable how iconic Casablanca remains. Even now, more than 70 years after its 1942 release, few movies have ever produced as many enduring quotes.

But when I think of the film, the first thing that comes to my mind isn’t “Here’s looking at you, kid,” or “We’ll always have Paris,” or the song “As Time Goes By,” or any of the other often best-remembered parts. For me, it’s always “La Marseillaise” — the dueling anthems between French refugees and their German occupants singing “Die Wacht am Rhein.” I’ve never found a movie scene yet that can match it. So now, at a time when people are once again turning to “La Marseillaise” for comfort in the face of adversity, I wanted to revisit what makes this scene so powerful.

The scene marks a major turning point in the film. Directly preceding this scene, the bar owner Rick (Humphrey Bogart) refuses to give or sell letters of transit to the war hero/revolutionary Victor Laszlo (Paul Heinreid). The letters of transit are the only hope of freedom for Victor, and his only chance at returning to his efforts at insurgency against the Nazis; Rick knows this, but is still too hurt and bitter that his lost love Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) has chosen Victor over him. Rick’s refusal is essentially a Nazi victory, despite his careful attempts at framing his (in)actions as simple neutrality. The Germans, led by Major Strausser (Conrad Veidt), have established a de facto control over Casablanca, acting through the openly self-interested French Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains).

After “La Marseillaise,” everything changes. The uneasy stalemate between Victor Laszlo and Major Strausser can no longer continue in the face of such open defiance of German power. Strausser orders Renault to find a pretense to shut down Rick’s — leading to arguably the film’s best exchange of dialogue. Strausser uses Ilsa to increase the pressure on Victor. Everything kicks into gear, as now Rick, Ilsa, Victor, and Louis are all forced into unpleasant decisions that will push the film toward its climax.

And it all begins with the anthems. As Rick and Victor are ending their disagreement, they hear the German soldiers in the bar below, joyfully and triumphantly singing “Die Wacht am Rhein.” The rest of the bar is made up largely of refugees from the German war machine, so the anthem feels almost like taunting, a callous display of German power over people seeking to escape their conquering. Even the ever-compliant Louis looks on at the singing with an expression that could be construed as disapproval, before glancing toward Rick to see what he’ll do. (Rick is a constant source of curiosity for Louis throughout the film.) This expression is the first and barest foreshadowing we receive of Louis’s eventual turn.

Victor spends only seconds taking in the scene in front of him before marching straight down to the bar’s band. As he passes, we see Ilsa watch him go by with a look of only partially contained dread. She knows this man and exactly what he’s about to do.

Victor reaches the band and immediately demands that they play “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem. Here we see, for the first and perhaps only time, what has made Victor such an important figure. There’s such a fierceness to him, an intensity that comes bursting out as he repeats his demand — “Play it” — less than second after first making it.

The band leader looks first to Rick for approval; the film had already established previously the absolute loyalty that Rick receives from his employees, in a scene where the bartender cuts off a patron on Rick’s orders despite protests for one more drink. Nothing that follows can happen without Rick’s assent. Bogart’s nod is such a small gesture, but carries such enormous weight. This is the first moment of Rick choosing a side, of joining in resistance in some small way.

The band launches into “La Marseillaise” with Victor leading the singing, and within two seconds, the entire bar (except the Germans) has stood and joined him. Everyone was ready and waiting for this to happen, even if they didn’t know it: the kindling was already there, and Victor was the spark to light it. Major Strausser makes one attempt to rouse his soldiers into louder voices, but it’s no use. The Germans are but one small enclave, finding themselves within a community that’s filled with less traditional power but greater numbers and far superior zeal. Within moments, “La Marseillaise” has drowned out “Die Wacht am Rhein.”

Strausser is forced to give up and sit down in anger. That moment is also an example of one of the fascinating things about this scene, and why I’ve rewatched it by itself so many times. While the main focus in on just a small handful of characters, there are numerous people around the edges of shots whose actions and expressions add greatly to the emotions being played out. Take, for instance, the German officer to Strausser’s right (screen left), and the frustration and disgust on his face as he finally gives up the song.

Now, only “La Marseillaise” is playing, as the voices rise to a swell. And we come to the heart of the entire scene: Yvonne. The story of Yvonne (Madeleine Lebeau) in Casablanca is perhaps the greatest example of economy in storytelling that I’ve seen. She appears in only three scenes in the entire film, with this one the last of them. Her total screen time combined is probably no more than a minute. And yet, in those brief stretches, we see an entire character arc play out; and what’s more, an arc that acts as a microcosm of the entire film.

We first see Yvonne early in the film, as she’s upset and confronting Rick because he’s rebuffed her after the two of them apparently shared a one-night stand. She tries to get drunker, but Rick takes that away from her too and has her sent home. The next time she appears, she’s at the bar and romantically entwined with a German soldier. A Frenchman takes exception to that pairing and starts a fight; Yvonne sides with the German. These two scenes, as brief as they are, tell us so much about her. She’s a broken woman, desperately seeking a man, possibly for love but more likely for a sense of protection and comfort in dangerous times. This desperation leads her all the way to the point of willingly collaborating and romantically pairing with a German.

But then, there’s “La Marseillaise.” A sudden and fervent outburst of patriotism that spreads like wildfire through the bar, overwhelming the Germans and awakening a passion in its singers. As the song begins to near its climax, we get a close-up of Yvonne, singing along with a very different kind of passion. We see tears streaking down her face and a pained expression as she sings. In just these few seconds, you can see a mountain of development and emotion. The same woman who was willing to compromise everything for her own security is realizing how far that compromise has made her fall; is realizing that she may never see the homeland she loves again; is realizing that she’d rather die a true Frenchwoman than live a traitor. It’s the same type of journey we see Rick travel more slowly throughout the movie, and shows perhaps the film’s most important motif: the choice between personal desire or safety and the greater good. How many people must have faced similar choices in the war — to collaborate or die? Yvonne isn’t just herself in this scene; she’s representing scores of people as she faces hard truths and makes her emotional break.

We then move to Ilsa, and without a word, she conveys everything we need to know about her relationship with Victor. The movie wouldn’t be nearly as enduring without Bergman’s flawless portrayal of Ilsa. It’s easy to imagine a version of the film with Ilsa coming across as just a reductive caricature; her role in the plot revolves mostly around her being torn between two men whom she both loves. But Bergman imbues her with such subtle strength that Ilsa always feels like she has agency. Even when she tells Rick near the end that he must make the choices for both of them, it feels like a lie; she believes Rick will choose to keep her and him together, so telling him to make the choice is itself the choice.

But while Casablanca gives us flashbacks to Ilsa and Rick’s time together in Paris, the development of Ilsa and Victor is mostly expository. This scene is perhaps the best representation of how they fit together. Victor charged past Ilsa without a word, and we already saw the dread in her face as she knew what he was about to do. Now we get the first shot of her reaction to “La Marseillaise” after it’s begun. You can see it on her face and in the deep breaths she takes: she knows. She knows what this means for Victor, for his cause, for her, for their relationship. His open defiance in the face of the German soldiers will end all good hope they had of ever leaving Casablanca alive and together. You can see her heart breaking as she recognizes their predicament before anyone else in the room has even considered it.

But then the camera cuts back to Victor, still singing triumphantly. There is such bravado in Henreid’s performance here; it’s the one scene where you can really see Victor as a revolutionary leader, capable of inspiring people into acts of defiance in the face of tyranny. When the camera reaches Ilsa again, her expression has softened, melted even, into one of love. A bittersweet love, perhaps, but an evident one. She knows that this reckless disregard for his own life is that same thing that once landed Victor in a concentration camp and threatens him again now in Casablanca, but that zeal must be the same reason she fell for him in the first place. Again, the economy of storytelling here is remarkable. Within a handful of seconds, an entire wordless story has been told: Ilsa’s sad resignation to their changing circumstances, Victor’s passionate defiance, and Ilsa’s acceptance of her husband, loving him for the fact that his greatest flaws are also his greatest virtues.

Ilsa’s acceptance is the final act needed for “La Marseillaise” to move on to reach its climax. Within less than just a couple of minutes, we have had the German aggression, Victor’s rebellion against it, Rick taking his first stand, the overwhelming passion of the French crowd, the redemption of Yvonne painting a story representative of the whole film, and Ilsa and Victor’s unconventional love in the face of adversity. All that remains is the final groundswell.

The power of this scene is helped, of course, by the indisputable fact that “La Marseillaise” is an incredible national anthem. While I’m by no means an expert, it’s the best one I’ve ever heard from any country, and its association in my mind with this scene is highly likely to always keep it there. But the scene is also helped by the people in it. The main actors are at their finest here, and I already mentioned how supporting actors gave great little tidbits in the German soldier part.

Yet perhaps the greatest thing in this scene is that most of the people in it weren’t actors at all; rather, director Michael Curtiz filled the scene with actual French refugees. Keep in mind, this movie came out in 1942 and was filmed at the height of World War II, at a time when Germany looked nearly unbeatable and Nazi occupation of France was indefinite. And here was a group of refugees from that occupation, given the chance to sing their anthem with defiant pride. For one brief moment, this wasn’t a movie. It was real life, and it was tragic, and it was brave. Reports have said that extras were crying on set during filming, and the passion is evident any time you look past the main actors to the background singers. Note, for instance, the furious arm pump by the man in the background behind the blonde woman at the left of the screen:

It’s also worth noting that the film is entirely in English; “La Marseillaise” is the only foreign language sequence I can recall, and it’s presented without subtitles. (You can find the English translation here; it’s very much a true battle song, in the goriest sense of the phrase.)  For some reason, that adds even more to its power for me. It’s unapologetically French, and derives much of its power from that. It was their anthem, at the time they needed it most. And for the film’s audience, most of whom were probably not speaking French, the intentional creation of a brief language barrier allows for a pure distillation of the passion of the singing; it’s not the words that matter, it’s what they represent to the people saying them. And what they represent is an ability to stand up in their darkest hour and show their oppressors that their pride will never be extinguished.

The song ends with one final shot of Yvonne, the final time we see her in the film. With wet cheeks, she yells “Vive la France!”

I truly believe this remains the greatest scene ever filmed. It’s filled with such raw power and emotion, showing a beacon of light in the midst of some of humanity’s darkest days. It tells so much of a story in such a brief moment, distilling numerous characters down to their cores and giving them developments and arcs through the merest of glances. It’s the turning point that pushes the plot and its characters to the point of no return, where a final and deadly confrontation will become necessary. All because of the power of a single song, and its ability to inspire, to create and destroy, to stoke passions and reconciliations and fears and loves. All because of “La Marseillaise.”

Vive la France, indeed.

Hotel California - Lexington Lab Band

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night.
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
'This could be heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face.
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year) you can find it here
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain,
'Please bring me my wine'
He said, 'we haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty-nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say"
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face.
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise), bring your alibis
Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said, 'we are all just prisoners here, of our own device'
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
'Relax' said the night man,
'We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave!'

Songwriters: Don Felder / Don Henley / Glenn Frey
Hotel California lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group


"Hotel California" is the title track from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics). The Eagles' original recording of the song features Henley singing the lead vocals and concludes with an extended section of electric guitar interplay between Felder and Joe Walsh.

The song is considered the most famous recording by the band, and its long guitar coda has been voted the best guitar solo of all time by readers of Guitarist in 1998.[ The song was awarded the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1978.[5] The lyrics of the song have been given various interpretations by fans and critics alike, the Eagles themselves described the song as their "interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles". In the 2013 documentary History of the Eagles, Henley said that the song was about "a journey from innocence to experience... that's all..."

Since its release, "Hotel California" has been covered by a number of artists and has become a part of international popular culture. Julia Phillips proposed adapting the song into a film, but the members of the Eagles disliked the idea and it never came to fruition. Commercially, "Hotel California" reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top ten of several international charts.


History


Don Felder composed the melody for "Hotel California."

Glenn Frey provided the outline of "Hotel California."

Don Henley wrote the lyrics to "Hotel California" with Frey.
The melody of the song was composed by Don Felder in a rented house on Malibu Beach. He recorded the basic tracks with a Rhythm Ace drum machine and added a 12 string guitar on a four-track recording deck in his spare bedroom, then mixed in a bassline, and gave Don Henley and Glenn Frey each a copy of the recording.[8] Felder, who met the Eagles through his high school bandmate Bernie Leadon, said that Leadon advised him to make tapes of songs he wrote for the band so that other band members like Henley, whose forte is in writing lyrics, might work with him on finishing the songs they like.[9] The demos he made were always instrumental, and on every album project he would submit 15 or 16 ideas. The demo he made for "Hotel California" showed influences from Latin and reggae music, and it grabbed the attention of Henley who said he liked the song that "sounds like a Mexican reggae or Bolero",[9] which gave the song its first working title, "Mexican Reggae".

Frey and Henley were both interested in the tune after hearing the demo, and discussed the concept for the lyrics. In 2008, Felder described the writing of the lyrics:

Don Henley and Glenn wrote most of the words. All of us kind of drove into L.A. at night. Nobody was from California, and if you drive into L.A. at night... you can just see this glow on the horizon of lights, and the images that start running through your head of Hollywood and all the dreams that you have, and so it was kind of about that... what we started writing the song about.

Henley decided on the theme of "Hotel California", noting how The Beverly Hills Hotel had become a literal and symbolic focal point of their lives at that time.Henley said of their personal and professional experience in LA: "We were getting an extensive education, in life, in love, in business. Beverly Hills was still a mythical place to us. In that sense it became something of a symbol, and the 'Hotel' the locus of all that LA had come to mean for us. In a sentence, I'd sum it up as the end of the innocence, round one."

Frey came up with a cinematic scenario of a person who, tired from driving a long distance in a desert, saw a place for a rest and pulled in for the night, but entered "a weird world peopled by freaky characters", and became "quickly spooked by the claustrophobic feeling of being caught in a disturbing web from which he may never escape." In an interview with Cameron Crowe, Frey said that he and Henley wanted the song "to open like an episode of the Twilight Zone", and added: "We take this guy and make him like a character in The Magus, where every time he walks through a door there’s a new version of reality. We wanted to write a song just like it was a movie."Frey described the song in an interview with NBC's Bob Costas as a cinematic montage "just one shot to the next ... a picture of a guy on the highway, a picture of the hotel, the guy walks in, the door opens, strange people." Frey continued: "We decided to create something strange, just to see if we could do it." Henley then wrote most of the lyrics based on Frey's idea, and sought inspiration for the writing by driving out into the desert as well as from films and theater.

Part of the lyrics, such as "Her mind is Tiffany twisted, she got the Mercedes bends / She got a lot of pretty pretty boys she calls friends", are based on Henley's break-up with his girlfriend Loree Rodkin.[8][13] According to Glenn Frey's liner notes for The Very Best Of, the use of the word "steely" in the lyric, "They stab it with their steely knives, but they just can't kill the beast," was a playful nod to the band Steely Dan, who had included the lyric "Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening" in their song "Everything You Did". Frey had also said that the writing of the song was inspired by the boldness of Steely Dan's lyrics and its willingness to go "out there" and thought that the song they wrote had "achieved perfect ambiguity."

Chuck Berry - You Never Can Tell. (with its history and lyrics)

[Verse 1]
It was a teenage wedding
And the old folks wished them well
You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell

[Hook]
"C'est la vie", say the old folks
It goes to show you never can tell

[Verse 2]
They furnished off an apartment with
A two room Roebuck sale
The coolerator was crammed with
TV dinners and ginger ale
But when Pierre found work, the little money comin' worked out well

[Hook]
"C'est la vie", say the old folks
It goes to show you never can tell

[Verse 3]
They had a hi-fi phono, boy
Did they let it blast
Seven hundred little records,
All rock, rhythm and jazz
But when the sun went down
The rapid tempo of the music fell

[Hook]
"C'est la vie", say the old folks
It goes to show you never can tell

[Verse 4]
They bought a souped-up jitney, 'twas a cherry red '53
They drove it down New Orleans
To celebrate their anniversary
It was there that Pierre was married to the lovely madamoiselle

[Hook]
"C'est la vie", say the old folks
It goes to show you never can tell

[Bridge]
They had a teenage wedding
And the old folks wished them well
You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell

[Hook]
"C'est la vie", say the old folks
It goes to show you never can tell

You Never Can Tell", also known as "C'est La Vie" or "Teenage Wedding", is a song written by Chuck Berry. It was composed in the early 1960s while Berry was in federal prison for violating the Mann Act. Released in 1964 on the album St. Louis to Liverpool and the follow-up single to Berry's final Top Ten hit of the 1960s: "No Particular Place to Go", "You Never Can Tell" reached number 14, becoming Berry's final Top 40 hit until "My Ding-a-Ling", a number 1 in October 1972. A 1977 Top Ten C&W hit for Emmylou Harris, the song has also been recorded or performed by Chely Wright, John Prine, New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Jerry Garcia Band, Bruce Springsteen, The Mavericks, Buster Shuffle and Bob Seger

Description

The song tells of the wedding of two teenagers and their lifestyle afterward. Living in a modest apartment, the young man finds work and they begin to enjoy relative prosperity. Eventually they purchase a "souped-up jitney" (an automobile modified for high performance) and travel to New Orleans, where their wedding had taken place, to celebrate their anniversary. Each verse ends with the refrain, "'C'est la vie,' say the old folks, 'it goes to show you never can tell.'" The melody was influenced by Mitchell Torok's 1953 hit "Caribbean."

Pulp Fiction

The song briefly became popular again after the 1994 release of the film Pulp Fiction, directed and co-written by Quentin Tarantino. The music was played for a "Twist contest" in which Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) competed (and were the only contestants shown in the film). The music added an evocative element of sound to the narrative and Tarantino said that the song's lyrics of "Pierre" and "Mademoiselle" gave the scene a "uniquely '50s French New Wave dance sequence feel".

Impact

Nick Lowe has indicated this song was a source of inspiration for his song "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll)", which has been recorded by Dave Edmunds, Status Quo, and Lowe himself.

Other versions

Emmylou Harris version

"(You Never Can Tell) C'est La Vie"

(You Never Can Tell) C'est La Vie - Emmylou Harris.jpg

Single by Emmylou Harris

from the album Luxury Liner

B-side "Hello Stranger"

Released February 2, 1977

Format 7" single

Genre Rockabilly

Length 3:27

Label Warner Bros.

Songwriter(s) Chuck Berry

Producer(s) Brian Ahern

Emmylou Harris singles chronology

"Light of the Stable"

(1976) "(You Never Can Tell) C'est La Vie"

(1977) "Making Believe"

(1977)

Emmylou Harris' recording of "You Never Can Tell" - entitled "(You Never Can Tell) C'est La Vie" - was the lead single from her 1977 Warner Bros. Records album Luxury Liner.

Harris had sung Chuck Berry songs as a member of a DC-based folk trio early in her career. Her decision to record "...C'est La Vie" was the result of her listening extensively to rock-&-roll oldies while on the road.[4] The track, which features a prominent Cajun fiddle contribution by Ricky Skaggs, was recorded in an August 10, 1976 session recorded in the Enactron Truck, the mobile studio owned and operated by Harris' producer Brian Ahern. The same session yielded "Hello Stranger" which would serve as the B-side of the single release.

Released February 2, 1977, "...C'est La Vie" rose as high as #6 on C&W chart in Billboard that April. The track also rose to #4 and #5, respectively in the Netherlands and also the Flemish Region of Belgium. It also charted in Germany at #41.

In a 2013 interview Harris said: "'C’est la Vie' was a wonderful song to do, and I might [perform] it for nostalgic reasons, but it just lost its appeal for me after a while. I didn’t feel that I was bringing anything to it, I guess."

Also

1974 Ronnie Lane, on Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance

1975 John Prine, on Common Sense

1975 Loggins and Messina, on So Fine

1976 New Riders of the Purple Sage, on New Riders

1981 Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, on Leather and Lace

1984 Ian A. Anderson and Mike Cooper, on The Continuous Preaching Blues

1985 Bill Wyman's "Willie and the Poor Boys" featuring Charlie Watts, Andy Fairweather-Lowe, Mickey Gee, Geraint Watkins[6]

1993 Aaron Neville, on The Grand Tour

1994 Bob Seger, on Greatest Hits (as "C'est La Vie")

1996 Status Quo, on Don't Stop

2003 Farmboy, on the album Farmboy (as C’est la Vie)

2005 Chely Wright, on The Metropolitan Hotel (as "C'est La Vie (You Never Can Tell)")

2005 Santiago & Luis Auserón, on Las Malas Lenguas (as "Quién Lo Iba A Suponer")

2005 Texas Lightning, on Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch (as "C'est La Vie")

2008 Roch Voisine, on Americana

2010 The Morlocks, on Play Chess

2013 Buster Shuffle On the "You Never Can Tell" single

2013 Bruce Springsteen, on the Wrecking Ball tour, in Germany

2015 A. Caveman & The Backseats for Ubisoft's Just Dance 2016

2017 Elise LeGrow, on Playing Chess

2017 Coldplay, on A Concert for Charlottesville

Bruce Springsteen with his wife Patricia Scialfa - Tougher Than the Rest

Lyrics

Well It's Saturday night
You're all dressed up in blue
I been watching you awhile
Maybe you been watching me too
So somebody ran out
Left somebody's heart in a mess
Well if you're looking for love
Honey I'm tougher than the rest

Some girls they want a handsome Dan
Or some good-lookin' Joe
On their arm some girls like a sweet-talkin' Romeo
Well 'round here baby
I learned you get what you can get
So if you're rough enough for love
Honey I'm tougher than the rest

The road is dark
And it's a thin thin line
But I want you to know I'll walk it for you any time
Maybe your other boyfriends
Couldn't pass the test
Well if you're rough and ready for love
Honey I'm tougher than the rest

Well it ain't no secret
I've been around a time or two
Well I don't know baby maybe you've been around too
Well there's another dance
All you gotta do is say yes
And if you're rough and ready for love
Honey I'm tougher than the rest
If you're rough enough for love
Baby I'm tougher than the rest

Songwriters: Bruce Springsteen

Tougher Than the Rest lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

"Tougher Than the Rest" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1987 Tunnel of Love album. It was released as a single in some countries, following "Brilliant Disguise" and the title track, but was not released as a single in the United States. It reached as high as No. 3 on the Swiss charts, and also reached the Top 20 in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Austria.

History

Like much of the Tunnel of Love album, "Tougher Than the Rest" was recorded in Springsteen's home studio, called Thrill Hill East, between January and May 1987 with several members of the E Street Band On this song, Springsteen played several instruments and is backed by Danny Federici on organ and Max Weinberg on percussion.Although it was originally written as a rockabilly song, the final version has a slower and more methodical rhythm.

On the Tunnel of Love album, "Tougher Than the Rest" is the second song, following the acoustic "Ain't Got You", and introduces the sound that will permeate the remainder of the album. The synthesizer sound is layered and melodic and the drum sound is moody, heavy and menacing. Springsteen's vocal is also menacing and boastful as he sings the simple but elegant lyrics detailing his infatuation.

At least one of the singer and the woman he is singing to appear to be on the rebound from prior relationships. The singer recognizes that he is not a "handsome Dan" or a "sweet talking Romeo" and admits that he has "been around a time or two". He is not bothered with the possibility that the woman may have "been around too."Although the singer knows how messy and rough love can be, he claims that he is ready for it, but insists that the woman must also be equally tough and willing to take chances.The song is in some ways reminiscent of Springsteen's earlier song "Thunder Road", in which the singer wants to take the woman away, even though he tells her that "you ain't a beauty but hey you're alright". But unlike the earlier song, in this song the singer's goals are more realistic – rather than looking to run away with the woman, here he just wants to ask the woman to dance. In the context of this song the phrase, 'There's another dance, all you have to do is say yes,' is an allusion to taking a chance and falling in love. This is echoed in the song 'Girls in their Summer Clothes' which includes the line 'Love's a fools' dance, I ain't got no sense, but I've still got my feet.'

The music video features live concert footage interspersed with vignettes of couples made at venues on his "Tunnel of Love Express" tour. The video includes both gay and lesbian pairs interspersed with heterosexual couples as representatives of the artist's fans. Springsteen included this explicitly homosexual imagery with neither fanfare nor exploitation. Like several other music videos from the Tunnel of Love album, including "Brilliant Disguise", "Tunnel of Love" and "One Step Up", the video for "Tougher Than The Rest" was directed by Meiert Avis. The video was later released on the VHS and DVD Video Anthology / 1978-88.

Live performance history

"Tougher Than the Rest" has been reasonably popular in live performances. Next to Brilliant Disguise and the title track, this song is third and only other song from the album to receive several appearances live. From the Tunnel of Love Express Tour (where it typically opened the second set) that supported the initial release of the album through July 2005, the song received 98 live performances in concert. A live version of the song, recorded on April 27, 1988 at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was released on the EP Chimes of Freedom. That version runs 6:39.

Cover versions

Emmylou Harris recorded the most successful cover version of this song. A cover by Chris LeDoux peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1995. Other cover versions have been recorded by Title Tracks, Everything but the Girl, The Mendoza Line, Darren Hayes, Travis Tritt, Shawn Colvin, Angel Olsen and Camera Obscura. Cher performed the song during her 1990 Heart of Stone Tour and it is included in her Live at the Mirage DVD of that tour. We Are Augustines also covered the song, on their iTunes Session album.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cotton Fields - and the history of the song

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cotton Fields Lyrics

Songwriters: HUDDIE LEDBETTER

Cotton Fields lyrics © T.R.O. INC.

Chorus1:
When I was a little bitty baby
My mama would rock me in the cradle,
In them old cotton fields back home;

Chorus2:
It was down in Louisiana,
Just about a mile from Texarkana,
In them old cotton fields back home.

Chorus3:
Oh, when them cotton bolls get rotten
You can't pick very much cotton,
In them old cotton fields back home.

Chorus2
Chorus1
Chorus2
Chorus3
Chorus2
Chorus1
Chorus2


"Cotton Fields" is a song written by American blues musician Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, who made the first recording of the song in 1940.


Early versions

Recorded by Lead Belly in 1940, "Cotton Fields" was introduced into the canon of folk music via its inclusion on the 1954 album release Odetta & Larry which comprised performances by Odetta[1] at the Tin Angel nightclub in San Francisco with instrumental and vocal accompaniment by Lawrence Mohr: this version was entitled "Old Cotton Fields at Home". The song's profile was boosted via its recording by Harry Belafonte first on his 1958 album Belafonte Sings the Blues with a live version appearing on the 1959 concert album Belafonte at Carnegie Hall: Belafonte had learned "Cotton Fields" from Odetta and been singing it in concert as early as 1955. A #13 hit in 1961 for The Highwaymen, "Cotton Fields" served as an album track for a number of C&W and folk-rock acts including Ferlin Husky (The Heart and Soul of Ferlin Husky 1963), Buck Owens (On the Bandstand 1963), the New Christy Minstrels (Chim-Chim-Cheree 1965) and the Seekers (Roving With The Seekers1964): Odetta also made a new studio recording of the song for her 1963 album One Grain of Sand. The Springfields included "Cotton Fields" on a 1962 EPrelease: this version is featured on the CD On An Island Of Dreams: The Best Of The Springfields. "Cotton Fields" was also recorded by Unit 4+2 for their Concrete and Clay album (1965). A rendering in French: "L'enfant do", was recorded in 1962 by Hugues Aufray and Petula Clark.

The Beach Boys cover[edit]
"Cottonfields"

When I was a little bitty baby
My mama done rock me in the cradle
In them old cotton fields back home
It was back in louisiana
Just about a mile from texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home

Let me tell you now well got me in a fix
I caught a nail in my tire doing lickitey splits
I had to walk a long long way to town
Came upon a nice old man well he had a hat on
Wait a minute mister can you give me some directions
I gonna want to be right off for home

Don't care if them cotton balls get rotten
When I got you baby, who needs cotton
In them old cotton fields back home
Brother only one thing more that's gonna warm you
A summer's day out in California
It's gonna be those cotton fields back home

It was back in Louisiana
Just about…

American rock band the Beach Boys recorded "Cotton Fields" on November 18, 1968: the track with Al Jardine on lead vocals debuted on the group's 1969 album 20/20.

Single version

The Beach Boys
Al Jardine - lead vocals, guitar, producer, arrangement
Carl Wilson – guitar
Dennis Wilson – drums
Bruce Johnston – keyboardsAdditional personnel
Ed Carter – bass
Daryl Dragon – keyboards
Orville "Red" Rhodes - pedal steel guitar
Frank Capp – percussion
Bill Peterson, Fred Koyen, David Edwards, Ernie Small – horns
The Beach Boys - producer

Notes
The single version of the song has mild distortion due to compression, especially during the drum fills, and sporadic skipping can be heard from 1:03 to 1:31 in the song. This is much more noticeable in the stereo mix of the song. In the mono mix of the song featured in the Good Vibrations box set, the skipping is less audible and the song itself is in a slightly higher pitch than in this stereo version.

Dissatisfied with Brian Wilson's arrangement of the song, Jardine later led the group to record a more country rock style version; this version recorded on August 15, 1969, featured Orville "Red" Rhodes on pedal steel guitar. Entitled "Cottonfields", the track afforded the Beach Boys their most widespread international success while also consolidating the end of the group's hit-making career in the US (although they would enjoy periodic comebacks there). "Cottonfields" would be the final Beach Boys' single released on Capitol Records – the group's label since May 1962 – and their last single released in mono.

While barely making a dent in the U.S. (number 95 Record World, number 103 Billboard) though promoted with an appearance on the network TV pop show Something Else, the song succeeded across the Atlantic, reaching number two in the UK's Melody Maker chart and listed as the tenth-biggest seller of the year by the New Musical Express. Worldwide – outside North America – it nearly replicated the success of the group's "Do It Again" two years before. It was number 1 in Australia, South Africa, Sweden and Norway, number 2 in Denmark, number 3 in Ireland, similarly top 5 in the United Kingdom, Japan, Spain and Rhodesia; number 12 in the Netherlands, number 13 in New Zealand and number 29 in Germany. Because of this popularity, it was placed on the international (ex-US) release of the group's Sunfloweralbum.

Covers

Bill Monroe 1962, Decca Records DL4266
The Highwaymen (folk band) in 1962
Johnny Cash on his 1962 album The Sound of Johnny Cash
The Angels in 1963 that went to #119 in the U.S.
Johnny Mann Singers on the 1963 album Golden Folk Song Hits – Liberty LST-7253
Esther Ofarim sang "Cotton Fields" live on television in 1963 & 1969, with her then husband Abi Ofarim. They also recorded a German version, "Wenn ich bei Dir sein kann" in 1964[4]
Eddy Arnold (with the Needmore Creek Singers) on the 1964 album "Folk Song Book"
Rose Marie on episode 102 of The Dick van Dyke Show "The Alan Brady Show Goes to Jail" (1964)
The Carter Sisters on their album The Best of The Carter Family (1966)
Webb Pierce on the 1966 Decca album Webb's Choice
Harry Dean Stanton, in one scene of the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, plays a sped-up version
Udo Jürgens a 1968 single
Creedence Clearwater Revival on their (1969) album Willy and the Poor Boys. This version hit #1 in Mexico in 1970.
Elvis Presley in the 1970 movie Elvis: That's the Way It Is
Joe Dassin on 1989 Sony Music compilation Vol.2.
Donna Douglas on her 1989 album Back on the Mountain
The Pogues on their 1989 album Peace and Love (while this version references the original in its lyrics, the song itself is not a cover per se)
Teresa Brewer on The Muppet Show
Tesla released a cover version as the B-side to the single Call It What You Want, released in 1991
Kitten recorded a version of the song on their 2007 album Yodeling Cowgirl
Flatfoot 56 (a Celtic Oi! band) covered it on their album Toil, released in 2012
Elton John on the Cotton Fields: 16 Legendary Covers From 1969/70 album, released in 2004
Harry Belafonte

Lyrics

The original Lead Belly lyrics state that the fields are "down in Louisiana, just ten miles from Texarkana". Later versions (e.g., Creedence Clearwater Revival's) say the fields are "down in Louisiana, just about a mile from Texarkana". Both are geographically impossible, as Texarkana is about 30 miles north of the Arkansas–Louisiana border. This song line suggests the writer had the widely held[citation needed] but mistaken belief that Texarkana is partially in Louisiana.

Further use

The song and its various cover versions became a synonym of bluegrass music, as well far from actual cotton yielding regions. E.g. the German skiffle band Die Rhöner Säuwäntzt describe their style as Musik von den Baumwollfeldern der Rhön, translating into "music played in the Rhön Mountains (imaginary) cotton fields".In Spanish, the song was covered by the '60s rock and roll group Los Apson. In order to keep the words sounding similar, the meaning of the song was completely changed.