French Songs

Let's talk about some French songs. Because, hey? Why not? Recently in one of my French classes we examined a song entitled Le Déserteur, by Boris Vian. This is an anti-war song, composed during France's war with Algeria over the French colonization of that country. Here it is:

These are the lyrics, translated into English:

Mr. President
I'm writing you a letter
that perhaps you will read
If you have the time.

I've just received
my call-up papers
to leave for the front
Before Wednesday night.

Mr. President
I do not want to go
I am not on this earth
to kill poor people.

It's not to make you mad
I must tell you
my decision is made
I am going to desert.

Since I was born
I have seen my father die
I have seen my brothers leave
and my children cry.

My mother has suffered so,
that she is in her grave
and she laughs at the bombs
and she laughs at the worms.

When I was a prisoner
they stole my wife
they stole my soul
and all my dear past.

Early tomorrow morning
I will shut my door
on these dead years
I will take to the road.

I will beg my way along
on the roads of France
from Brittany to Provence
and I will cry out to the people:

Refuse to obey
refuse to do it
don't go to war
refuse to go.

If blood must be given
go give your own
you are a good apostle
Mr. President.

If you go after me
warn your police
that I'll be unarmed
and that they can shoot.

This song, and its message of peace is persuasive for several reasons. For one, the music is relatively simple, which means that many people are able to sing it, which would contribute to its popularity and recognition. But the biggest effect, of course, comes from the lyrics.

The deserter who is “narrating” this song opens up with a plea to the president and establishes himself as a polite man who has a strong moral opposition to war. As he explains it, his purpose in life is not to kill other people, which is why he is opposing his conscription. The way he presents his argument is particularly striking. He did not say “I don't like killing”, he expressed his beliefs in a more inspiring way, one that suggests some moral enlightenment, “I am not on this earth to kill poor people”.

The song continues to paint a sad portrait of the deserter, who has lost both parents and his siblings. But his hardships progress when he stands up for his belief in peace and he continues to lose all that is dear to him as a consequence.

And finally, when this man has nothing left but his beliefs, he is going to walk across all of France, spreading his message of peace and encouraging the people he encounters to not go to war.

But it is the very end of the song where it is at its most poignant. The deserter is a man with nothing left to lose. A man who deserted, not because he was afraid to die, but because he believes in peace, which he proves when he proclaims that he is ready to go greet death and will go willingly.