"Ça ira" is an emblematic song of the French Revolution, first heard in May 1790. It underwent several changes in wording, all of which used the title words as part of the refrain.
Original version
The author of the original words "Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira" was a former soldier by the name of Ladré who made a living as a street singer. The music is a popular contredanse air called "Le carillon national", and was composed by Bécourt, a violinist of the théâtre Beaujolais. Queen Marie Antoinette herself is said to have often played the music on her harpsichord. The title and theme of the refrain were inspired by Benjamin Franklin, in France as a representative of the Continental Congress, who was very popular among the French people. When asked about the American Revolutionary War, he would reportedly reply, in somewhat broken French, "Ça ira, ça ira". The song first became popular as a worksong during the preparation for the Fête de la Fédération of 1790 and eventually became recognized as an unofficial anthem of revolutionaries.
Sans-culotte version
At later stages of the revolution, many sans-culottes used several much more aggressive stanzas, calling for the lynching of the nobility and the clergy. Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira les aristocrates à la lanterne! Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira les aristocrates on les pendra! Si on n' les pend pas On les rompra Si on n' les rompt pas On les brûlera. Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira les aristocrates à la lanterne! Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira les aristocrates on les pendra! Nous n'avions plus ni nobles, ni prêtres, Ah ! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira, L'égalité partout régnera. L'esclave autrichien le suivra, Ah ! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira, Et leur infernale clique Au diable s'envolera. Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira les aristocrates à la lanterne! Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira les aristocrates on les pendra! Et quand on les aura tous pendus On leur fichera la pelle au cul. Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine aristocrats to the lamp-post Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine the aristocrats, we'll hang them! If we don't hang them We'll break them If we don't break them We'll burn them Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine aristocrats to the lamp-post Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine the aristocrats, we'll hang them! We shall have no more nobles nor priests Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine Equality will reign everywhere The Austrian slave shall follow him Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine And their infernal clique Shall go to hell Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine aristocrats to the lamp-post Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine the aristocrats, we'll hang them! And when we'll have hung them all We'll stick a shovel up their arse.
An alternative "sans-culotte"-like version was sung by Édith Piaf for the soundtrack of the film Royal Affairs in Versailles by Sacha Guitry. The song is featured in the 1999 television seriesThe Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Richard E. Grant. There the lyrics are sung in English as follows: Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira Over in France there's a revolution Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira Watch what you say or you'll lose your head Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira Pass some time, see an execution! Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira Une deux trois and you fall down dead Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira Hear the tale of Marie Antoinette-a! Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira A bloodier sight you have never seen! In an opening scene of the novelWhat Is To Be Done? by Nikolay Chernyshevsky, the protagonist Vera Pavlovna is shown singing a song with ça ira in the refrain, accompanied by a paraphrase outlining the struggle for a socialist utopian future. The 1875 French translator "A.T." produced a four-stanza version on the basis of the paraphrase, which was reproduced in full by Benjamin Tucker in his translation.
