Written by Eugene Pottier after the murderous assault against the Paris Commune in 1871. The melody was added later by Pierre Degeyter. The anthem of Communists throughout the world, it is a fiery song of defiance and solidarity in the face of ruthless reaction and should be sung as such.

I've always been slightly bemused by those who seem to get embarrassed by the antiquated language of this - I can see no more point in trying to 'modernise' it than I would in repainting the Cistine Chapel or rewriting Shakespeare's plays.

Some older British Communists have taken issue with me over the way I sing the last line of the chorus of this. The melody I sing is the one written by Degeyter and it is sung that way throughout the rest of the world. It was altered - god alone knows why - sometime in the middle of the 20th century by a British composer and I actually find the British alteration to be musically idiotic as well as making it impossible for those who sing it in another language to join in with. I have sung this in the company of Communists from around the world who didn't speak a word of English and it is a wonderful experience to hear it sung simultaneously in several different languages, something which to me is the very essence of the song being put into practice. For that reason I also sing the word "Internationale" as "International-ay" as it is pronounced that way in most other languages. I actually think that to insist on doing it differently from the rest of the world is nothing more than residual British chauvinism and completely contradicts the idea that "The Internationale unites the human race".

Live performance only

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