The Internationale: The Workers' Song Born From Defeat
Few songs have traveled as far as The Internationale. Its story starts with a massacre.
The Paris Commune, 1871
After France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, working people in Paris took control of the city in March 1871 and formed the Commune, a short-lived government run by workers. In May, the French army crushed it. Tens of thousands were killed in what became known as Bloody Week.
Eugène Pottier's poem
That June, Eugène Pottier — a worker, poet and member of the Commune — wrote a poem while hiding from the crackdown. It opens with the line "Debout, les damnés de la terre": arise, wretched of the earth. Pottier fled into exile, and the poem waited years to find its music.
Pierre De Geyter's melody
In 1888, Pierre De Geyter, a Belgian-born factory worker and socialist in Lille, France, set Pottier's words to music — reportedly composing it quickly after reading the poem. The song was first performed that year in Lille, and the local workers' movement printed it on flyers.
Around the world
The Internationale spread across Europe and beyond and was translated into language after language. It became the anthem of the international labor and socialist movements, and served as the national anthem of the Soviet Union until 1944. It has been sung in the Spanish Civil War, in civil rights and labor struggles, and by Chinese students in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
In the Philippines
The Internationale has been sung in Tagalog and other Philippine languages by generations of Filipino workers, farmers and activists — from peasant and labor movements in the 20th century to organizers today. The wretched of the earth includes us.
Born from defeat
Written by a man running for his life, set to music by a factory worker, and carried by working people across every border. Whatever your politics, it's a reminder that songs can outlive the people who tried to silence them.
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