Where is the country? | Where is the country of those who have no property

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by Jean-Paul Marat (1743 - 1793)

Translation © by Andrew Schneider

Où est la patrie de ceux qui n'ont...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Où est la patrie de ceux qui n'ont aucune propriété, 
qui ne peuvent prétendre à aucun emploi, 
qui ne retirent aucun avantage du pacte social ? 
Partout condamnés à servir, s'ils ne sont pas 
sous le joug du maître, ils sont sous celui de leurs concitoyens, 
et, quelque révolution qu'il arrive, 
leur lot éternel est la servitude, la pauvreté, 
l'oppression. Que pourraient-ils donc devoir à l' Etat ? 
Il n'a rien fait pour eux que de cimenter leur misère 
et de river leurs fers ; ils ne lui doivent 
que la haine et les malédictions.

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: the line breaks are arbitrary; this is a piece of prose.

Text Authorship:

by Jean-Paul Marat (1743 - 1793), no title, appears in L'ami du Peuple, in Sur le plan du comite militaire, an excerpt [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by André Jolivet (1905 - 1974), "Où est la patrie ?", 1951, published 1996 [ medium voice, men's chorus, and orchestra or piano ], from Chants d'hier et de demain, no. 1, Éd. Gérard Billaudot [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Andrew Schneider) , "Where is the country?", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2016-05-03
Line count: 11
Word count: 92

Where is the country?

Language: English after the French (Français)

Where is the country of those who have no property, 
who cannot aspire to decent employment, 
who derive no advantage from the status quo?
Everywhere, condemned to serve, if they are not 
under the master's yoke, they are under that of their fellow-citizens,
and whatever revolution (may it come to pass),
their eternal destiny is servitude, poverty, oppression.
What could they then owe to the State?
There is nothing left for them but to cement their wretchedness 
and to rivet their chains; they owe her nothing 
but hatred and curses.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2019 by Andrew Schneider, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Jean-Paul Marat (1743 - 1793), no title, appears in L'ami du Peuple, in Sur le plan du comite militaire, an excerpt
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-04-28
Line count: 11
Word count: 90