The Montagnards (A. Valcour)By citizen A. ValcourThe last stanza is sung by the children of the

The Montagnards (A. Valcour)By citizen A. ValcourThe last stanza is sung by the children of the people.Heureux habitans des montagnes! / Fortunate dwellers of mountains!Chez vous siège la liberté; / Liberty sits among you;En tout temps elle eut pour compagnes / It always has for companionsL'innocence et la vérité. / Innocence and Truth.Ici le soleil sans nuages, / Here, the sun, without clouds,Chaque jour frappe vos regards; / Strikes your eyes everyday;A vos pieds voyez les orages / See the storms at your feetEt soyez toujours Montagnards! / And always be Montagnards!Ce fut sur la montagne antique / It was on the ancient mountainsQue naquit l'homme libre et fier; / That man was born free and proud;C'est sur la montagne helvétique / It was on the Swiss mountainsQue Tell pulvérisa Guesler. / That Tell annihilated Gessler.Que dans la plaine, les esclaves, / In the plain, the slavesRampent aux genoux des Césars; / Crawl at the feet of the Caesars;Pour nous, sans maîtres, sans entraves, / Without masters or chains,Nous serons toujours Montagnards. / We’ll always be Montagnards.Londres, Berlin, Vienne et l'Espagne, / London, Berlin, Vienna, Spain,Prétendaient nous remettre aux fers: / Aim to put us in chains again,Mais du sommet de la montagne, / But from the top of the mountain,Dieu planait sur l'Univers. / God loomed over the Universe.Par sa fermeté, sa prudence, / Through his firmness and his prudence,Malgré leurs bataillons épars, / In spite of their scattered battalions,La montagne a sauvé la France: / The Mountain has saved France:Gloire immortelle aux Montagnards. / Glory to the Montagnards.De la montagne inébranlable, / From the unwavering mountain,Le plus terrible des volcans / The most terrible of volcanoesA frappé la foule coupable / Has struck the guilty crowdDes satelites des tyrans. / Of the tyrants’ satellites.La foudre a terrasse le crime; / The lightning has struck down crime,Il ne souille plus nos regards; / It no longer sullies your eyes,Et depuis ce moment sublime / And from this sublime moment onTous les Français sont Montagnards. / All French are Montagnards.Y en a qu'la crainte accompagne, / Those who, accompanied by fear,Qui n'sont pas ferm’ sur leux jarrets, / Are not firm on their feet,Y voulont gravir la montagne, / Want to climb the mountain, andEt r’tombont toujours dans l'marais. / Always fall back to the marsh.C’nest pas là leux route ordinaire: / This is not their ordinary journey:Ils sont sujets à trop d'écarts… / They are subject to too many gaps…Ils ont beau dire, ils ont beau faire, / Whatever they say or do,Y n'seront jamais Montagnards. / They will never be Montagnards.Sur la montagne, dès l'enfance, / On the mountain, from childhood on,Nous en conservons la fierté. / We will preserve its dignity.Nous brûlons avec tout’ la France, / We will, along with all of France,De l'amour de la liberté! / Burn with the love of liberty!Puiss’ notre première campagne / May our first campaignÊtre agréable à vos regards!… / Be pleasant in your eyes!Vous êtes tous de la montagne / All of you are from the mountain,Accueillez les p'tits Montagnards. / Welcome the small Montagnards.Source: Poésies révolutionnaires et contre-révolutionnaires, t. 1, p. 208ff. -- source link

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