Database: La Carmagnole

La Carmagnole was one of the most popular songs of the French Revolution. Written in 1792 in the wake of the monarchy's fall on August 10, the song became known throughout France and was one of many adopted by the Parisian sans-culottes. La Carmagnole was traditionally sung while holding hands in a circle. With the chorus, the circle of dancers spun around faster and faster. In Paris, the crowd often danced around the guillotine to celebrate the execution of counter-revolutionaries. The Supplement to the Dictionary of the Academy defines the expression "Faire danser la carmagnole à quelqu'un" (making someone dance the carmagnole) as putting someone to death by guillotine or by any other form of torture used at the time. A number of different versions of La Carmagnole exist. They were often adapted to the political, social and economic context of events. This explains why the versions of 1792 and 1795 are respectively very different in terms of the words.