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Chanson de l’Armée de Charette

French song of the Vendée

Chanson de l'armée de Charette, or The song of the army of Charette is the song of the French army commanded by General Charette which fought against the forces of the French Revolution. Charette was one of the main leaders of the Catholic royalists in their heroic struggle in the Vendée. This song is a reflection of his noble character and the confidence that the soldiers under his command had in him.



Lyrics:

A l'entour de nos forces,
Nous avons pour certain,
Des ennemis atroces,
Qui nous narguent de loin.
Nous pouvons nous vanter,
Que ces mutins,
N'oseront aborder,
De nos terrains.

Ce Canclaux, général
De ces Républicains,
De ce mond' le total,
Veut battre les Chrétiens.
Mais, son coup est manqué,
Pour le certain,
Il se trouve éloigné,
De nos terrains.

Admirons la vaillance,
A Charette, homm' de coeur,
Il est né pour la France,
Et fait voir sa valeur.
Regardez cette armée,
Rien de plus beau.
I' y a palmes et lauriers,
Dans les drapeaux.

Ce souverain monarque,
Il a bien du renom,
Il fait un grand obstacle,
A toute la Nation.
Jusque dans l'Angleterre,
On parle de lui,
Ainsi qu'sur les frontières,
Même en Paris.

Dans toutes les provinces,
Vous entendrez parler,
Qu'il y a un nouveau prince,
Qu'on dit dans la Vendée.
Qui se nomme
Charette,
Le sabre en main,
Il fout les bleus par terre,
J'en suis témoin.

Quand il va-t-a l'attaque,
Dit à ses commandants:
‘Mettez-vous en bataille,
‘En marche sur huit rangs,
‘En avant, bombardiers
‘Ne craignez rien,
‘Courageux canonniers,
‘Le mond' nous apartient.‘

Voyez tout' cette troupe,
I' y a rien d'plus charmant,
Charette veut l'union
De tous ces commandants.
Il ordonne et prétend,
Que dans la Vendée
Chaque commandement
Soit divisé.

Quand nous somm' à Belleville,
Remparts et bastions,
Les commandants civils
De chaque division,
Vont rendre leurs hommages,
A deux genoux,
Auprès du grand personnage,
Du bas Poitou.


English translation:

Surrounding our forces,
We certainly have,
Atrocious enemies,
Who watch us from afar.
We can proudly expect,
That these wicked people,
Will not dare to cross the borders
Of our lands.

Canclaux, the General
Of these Republicans,
- Like all of these people -
Wants to fight the Christians.
But he missed his chance,
For certain,
He now is far away,
From our lands.

We admire the valor
Of Charette, a noble-hearted man,
He was born for to help France,
And what he did shows his merit.
Watch this army,
Nothing is more beautiful.
There are palms and laurels,
On the flags.

This sovereign monarch,
Has great renown,
He creates a great obstacle,
For the entire [revolutionary] Nation.
Even in England,
There is talk about him,
Also on the borders,
Of Paris itself.

In all provinces,
You will hear talk,
That there is a new prince,
As they say in Vendée
Who is named
Charette,
Sword in hand,
He beats the blues to the ground,
I am a witness of this.

When he makes an attack,
He orders his commanders:
‘Enter the battle,
‘Running in eight rows,
‘Forward bombers,
‘Fear nothing,
‘Brave gunners,
‘The world belongs to us.‘

See this whole troop,
There is nothing more charming,
Charette wants to unite
All the commanders.
What he orders and claims,
Is that in the Vendée,
Each commander
Has a division in the same army.

When we are in Belleville,
Filled of ramparts and bastions,
The commanders of the civilians,
Of each division,
Go to pay their allegiance,
On both knees
Before this great personage,
Of lower Poitou.





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