Today is le 4 juillet, je Jour de l’Independance, la fête nationale des État-Unis (the fourth of July, Independence Day, the National Day of the United States). We – and by that I mean les Américains – may not be able to cheer for notre équipe de foot (our soccer team) at la Coupe du monde, but today is still a fun day filled with family, friends, and les feux d’artifice (fireworks)!

Image from Pixabay. Licensed under CC0.

While looking for something that touches on le patriotisme et le barbeuq (patriotism and barbecue), I stumbled upon une version française (a French version) of l’hymne national américain (the American national anthem):

La Bannière étoilée
The Star Spangled Banner

There are a few translations of l’hymne, but the version I want to share comes from a group of musicians called les Amies Louisianaises (the Louisianian Friends). David Émile Marcantel who runs Musique Acadienne, a website dedicated to French music from la Louisiane (Louisiana), translated l’hymne and made sure it keeps some of the local flavors.

Even without understanding les paroles (the lyrics), it’s easy to follow along and recognize the familiar tune. After a few words, you can also hear the unique Cajun sound of the singers’ accent, which helps color its American origins. To me, that attention the song’s sentimental value gives la traduction (the translation) quite a bit of emotional weight.

Cette version of la chanson (the song) brings into focus how les États-Unis is home to many native French speakers and how la Louisiane – avec un bout de la Maine (with a little part of Maine) – makes the country a part of la francophonie!

Take a moment in between the hamburgers and hotdogs to celebrate the Fourth of July en français with a special version of l’hymne national!

Voici la Bannière étoile chantée par les Amies Louisianaises avec les paroles :

La Bannière étoilée, l’hymne national américain

O dites, voyez-vous
Dans la lumière du jour
Le drapeau qu’on saluait
À la tombée de la nuit ?
Dont les trois couleurs vives
Pendant la dure bataille
Au-dessus des remparts
Inspiraient notre pays.

Et l’éclair des fusées,
Des bombes qui explosaient,
Démontraient toute la nuit
Que le drapeau demeurait.
Est-ce que la bannière étoilée
Continue toujours à flotter
Au-dessus d’une nation brave,
Terre de la liberté ?