This week we are looking at the national anthem of France, which
is “La Marseillaise"
It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in
Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Austria
and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin", (“War
Song for the Rhine Army")
It was formally recognized as the French National Anthem in
1879, and it hasn't been changed since.
The song has been a subject of debate since the start and has in
fact been banned a number of times.
It was banned by Napoleon in 1804 till 1815
It was also banned in 1815 by King
Louis XVIII, it was reinstated in 1830.
Only to be banned again during the
rule of Napoleon III between 1852-1870 and reinstated again in 1879.
In 1887, an "official
version" was adopted by France's Ministry of War.
After WWII, the Ministry of Education encouraged school children
to sing the anthem to "celebrate our liberation and our
martyrs."
It was declared the official national anthem in Article 2
of the 1946 and 1958 constitutions.
It is taught and sung in French schools. However, the
song's lyrics have been controversial, with some questioning whether it is
appropriate to teach children the violent imagery in the song.
Here are the
lyrics in French and English, which I found at ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/la-marseillaise-frances-national-anthem-4080565
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!
Good morning, all this week we are
having a brief look at bipolar disorder, a condition I expect most have heard
of but how many know anything about it, I know bugga all.
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes extreme
shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration. It is also known as
manic-depressive illness or manic depression. It usually requires lifelong
treatment and does not go away on its own.
The exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown, but a
combination of factors may contribute to its onset and how it progresses.
These include genetics as it often runs in families, the way a person’s
brain functions as well as its structure as people with the disorder may have a
different structure to those without it. The chemicals in our brains are
involved in psychiatric disorders as an abnormal functioning of brain circuits
that involve serotonin may contribute to bipolar disorder.
Of course, drinking alcohol or using some recreational drugs are
believed to increase your risk of developing bipolar disorder.
Then there are environmental factors meaning things that are
considered an adverse or life-altering event, such as bereavement, violence, or
the breakdown of a relationship, can trigger or exacerbate symptoms.
The condition has many symptoms that include the following
Overwhelming
sadness
Low
energy and fatigue
Lack
of motivation
Feelings
of hopelessness or worthlessness
Difficulty
concentrating and making decisions
Uncontrollable
crying
Thoughts
of death or suicide
Treatment includes medication such as mood stabilising drugs,
antipsychotic and antidepressant medications, psychological therapy and some
lifestyle changes may be called for.
This is a condition that requires lifelong treatment and is
complicated and often will involve many assessments sometimes with different
doctors in order to be diagnosed. There are no blood tests that will diagnose
it, nor is there any medical or brain scans that will make a diagnosis easy.
Hello 2025, I hope you are a good year and one that we create some
good memories in as we travel through this journey called life.
Yes, it is a journey with many twists and turns, potholes and
uneven roads often narrow with a long drop off one side and no guard rail to
stop us falling off the edge.
The older we get the faster the years speed by and we need to
concentrate on what lays ahead of us, only checking our review from time to time
because only looking behind us means we are not seeing the wonderful things in
front of us. So, as we enter 2025, lets notice the beauty in front of us
because it's there if only we choose to see it.
Happy New Year, may it be filled with love, understand, compassion
and acceptance.
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