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Monday, November 6, 2023

Nov. 6 (M), 2023 共剷旗 The Flag of Hammer and Sickle


A brief translation in English.



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An old post of International Human Rights Day, last year 2022:


UK, and the US. translated versions, attached below.

The British version
Lyricist: Eugène Pottier

Arise, ye workers from your slumber,
Arise, ye prisoners of want.
For reason in revolt now thunders,
and at last ends the age of cant!
Away with all your superstitions,
Servile masses, arise, arise!
We'll change henceforth the old tradition,
And spurn the dust to win the prize!
Chorus
So comrades, come rally,
And the last fight let us face.
The Internationale
Unites the human race.
(repeat)
No more deluded by reaction,
On tyrants only we'll make war!
The soldiers too will take strike action,
They'll break ranks and fight no more!
And if those cannibals keep trying,
To sacrifice us to their pride,
They soon shall hear the bullets flying,
We'll shoot the generals on our own side.
Chorus
No saviour from on high delivers,
No faith have we in prince or peer.
Our own right hand the chains must shiver,
Chains of hatred, greed and fear.
E'er the thieves will out with their booty,
And to all give a happier lot.
Each at his forge must do their duty,
And we'll strike the iron while it's hot.
Chorus

The US. version:
The Internationale
Lyricist: Charles Hope Kerr

Arise, ye prisoners of starvation!
Arise, ye wretched of the earth!
For justice thunders condemnation:
A better world's in birth!
No more tradition's chains shall bind us;
Arise, ye slaves, no more in thrall!
The earth shall rise on new foundations:
We have been nought, we shall be all!
Chorus
'Tis the final conflict;
Let each stand in his place.
The International working class
Shall be the human race!
(repeat)
We want no condescending saviors
To rule us from a judgment hall;
We workers ask not for their favors;
Let us consult for all.
To make the thief disgorge his booty
To free the spirit from its cell,
We must ourselves decide our duty,
We must decide, and do it well.
Chorus
Toilers from shops and fields united,
The union we of all who work:
The earth belongs to us, the workers,
No room here for the shirk.
How many on our flesh have fattened!
But if the noisome birds of prey
Shall vanish from the sky some morning,
The blessed sunlight still will stay.
Chorus

Lyricist: Billy Bragg

Stand up, all victims of oppression
For the tyrants fear your might
Don't cling so hard to your possessions
For you have nothing, if you have no right
Let racist ignorance be ended
For respect makes the empires fall
Freedom is merely privilege extended
Unless enjoyed by one and all.
So come brothers and sisters
For the struggle carries on
The Internationale
Unites the world in song
So comrades come rally
For this is the time and place
The international ideal
Unites the human race
Let no one build walls to divide us
Walls of hatred nor walls of stone
Come greet the dawn and stand beside us
We'll live together or we'll die alone
In our world poisoned by exploitation
Those who have taken, now they must give
And end the vanity of nations
We've one but one Earth on which to live
So come brothers and sisters
For the struggle carries on
The Internationale
Unites the world in song
So comrades come rally
For this is the time and place
The international ideal
Unites the human race
And so begins the final drama
In the streets and in the fields
We stand unbowed before their armour
We defy their guns and shields
When we fight, provoked by their aggression
Let us be inspired by life and love
For though they offer us concessions
Change will not come from above.
So come brothers and sisters
For the struggle carries on
The Internationale
Unites the world in song
So comrades come rally
For this is the time and place
The international ideal
Unites the human race

The Internationale, a quasi national anthem of several countries is a very very interesting song (with an English caption)-, ironically, banned by the "CCP-Regime" recently...
(很有意思的是, 現在西朝鮮國, 最害怕人民唱這個歌, 即使是一句, 也不行!)
YOUTUBE.COM

"The Internationale" (French: "L'Internationale", [l‿ɛ̃.tɛʁ.na.sjɔ.nal(ə)]) is a left-wing anthem. It has been a standard of the socialist movement since the late nineteenth century, when the Second International adopted it as its official anthem. The title arises from the "First International", an alliance of workers which held a congress in 1864. The author of the anthem's lyrics, Eugène Pottier, an anarchist, attended this congress. Pottier's text was later set to an original melody composed by Pierre De Geyter, a Marxist.
It is one of the most universally translated anthems in history.
It has been adopted as the anthem of the anarchist, communist, socialist, democratic socialist, and social democratic movements." "

Refer to : "Did you know that the composer of 'The Internationale' was Belgian?". Focus on Belgium. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2021.