{"id":16296,"date":"2012-09-20T12:33:18","date_gmt":"2012-09-20T10:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=16296"},"modified":"2017-10-20T13:57:36","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T11:57:36","slug":"chanson-dautomne-autumn-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/chanson-dautomne-autumn-song\/","title":{"rendered":"“Chanson d’automne” (“Autumn Song”)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

This is the incredible yet little known story of\u00a0How One French Poem Helped Win the Second World War!<\/p>\n

When the allies were ready to land on the coasts of Normandy<\/a>, they announced the news to the French Resistance by means of this poem, first published in 1866:\u00a0“Chanson d’automne<\/em>” (“Autumn Song”)<\/strong>\u00a0by Paul Verlaine<\/strong>, one of the most famous poets of French language, belonging to his “Po\u00e8mes saturniens<\/strong><\/em>.”<\/p>\n

\n

\u2192<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0The first three lines of the poem, “Les sanglots longs des violons de l’automne<\/strong><\/em>” (“Long sobs of autumn violins”), meant that Operation (dubbed “Operation Overlord<\/strong>“) was to start within two weeks.<\/p>\n

Les sanglots longs<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe long sobs<\/p>\n

Des violons <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Of the violins<\/p>\n

De l\u2019automne <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Of Autumn<\/p>\n

Blessent mon c\u0153ur <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Wound my heart<\/p>\n

D\u2019une langueur<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

With a monotonous<\/p>\n

Monotone<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Languor<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2192\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>These last three lines signaled that the operation was to start within the next 48 hours, thus giving the Resistance\u00a0le feu vert\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(the green light) to launch all sorts of\u00a0sabotage operations against the occupying Nazis. You can hear it here with\u00a0the voice of Marlene Dietrich<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tout suffocant <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

All choked<\/em><\/p>\n

Et bl\u00eame, quand <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

And pale, when<\/p>\n

Sonne l’heure<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The hour chimes<\/p>\n

Je me souviens <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I remember<\/p>\n

Des jours anciens <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Days of old<\/p>\n

Et je pleure <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

And I cry<\/p>\n

Et je m’en vais <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

And I’m going<\/p>\n

Au vent mauvais <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On an ill wind<\/p>\n

Qui m’emporte <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

That carries me<\/p>\n

De\u00e7\u00e0, del\u00e0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Here and there<\/p>\n

Pareil \u00e0 la <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Like<\/p>\n

Feuille morte<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Dead leaf<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gEWPRRPgDhk<\/a><\/p>\n

To make it a bit softer to the ear, French singer Charles Trenet substitued the line “blessent mon c\u0153ur<\/em>” (“wound my heart”) by “bercent mon c\u0153ur<\/em>” (“lull<\/a> my heart”)<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

This is the incredible yet little known story of\u00a0How One French Poem Helped Win the Second World War! When the allies were ready to land on the coasts of Normandy, they announced the news to the French Resistance by means of this poem, first published in 1866:\u00a0“Chanson d’automne” (“Autumn Song”)\u00a0by Paul Verlaine, one of the…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":23635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[250035,250034,250033,250032,3670],"class_list":["post-16296","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-2e-guerre-mondiale","tag-autumn-song","tag-chanson-dautomne","tag-paul-verlaine","tag-wwii"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t