{{Short description|1943 French song by Anna Marly}} {{refimprove|date=February 2024}} {{Expand French|topic=cult|Le Chant des partisans|date=August 2024}} The "'''Chant des Partisans'''" ({{IPA|fr|ʃɑ̃ de paʁ.ti.zɑ̃|}}; "Song of the Partisans") was the most popular song of the Free French and French Resistance during World War II.<ref>Richard Raskin, "Le Chant des Partisans: Functions of a Wartime Song." ''Folklore'' [U.K.], 102, 1 (Summer, 1991), pp. 62–76.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Le chant des Partisans |url=https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/le-chant-des-partisans |website=www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr |publisher=Chemins de mémoire |access-date=26 February 2024}}</ref>
The piece was written and put to melody in London in 1943 after Anna Marly heard the Russian song "Through Valleys and Over Hills" that provided her with inspiration. Joseph Kessel and Maurice Druon wrote the French lyrics. It was performed by Anna Marly, broadcast by the BBC and adopted by the maquis. The lyrics of the song revolve around the idea of a life-or-death struggle for national liberation. After the war the "Chant des Partisans" was so popular, it was proposed as a new national anthem for France. It became for a short while the unofficial national anthem, next to the official "La Marseillaise".
Anna Marly also wrote and performed a more introspective song, "La Complainte du Partisan", which was later adapted and translated into English as "The Partisan". It was most famously covered by Leonard Cohen. The two songs are sometimes confused.
== References== {{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://french-chanson.narod.ru/chant.html "Le chant des partisans"] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20030801184354/http://www.fndirp.asso.fr/chantpartisans.htm National Federation of Deported and Imprisoned Resistance Fighters and Patriots] * {{YouTube|EaXZStHXBbQ|Anna Marly - Le chant des partisans}} (by author) * {{YouTube|6IbtHlvLXv4|Mireille Mathieu chante Le chant des partisans}} * [http://www.archives.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/juppe_version1/HIST/PARTISAN.HTM French Prime minister] * Version latest Gómez Naharro: * :es:El canto de los partisanos#Int.C3.A9rpretes
{{Authority control}} Category:1943 songs Category:Songs written by Anna Marly Category:Songs in French Category:French patriotic songs Category:French Resistance Category:Songs of the French Resistance