Throughout the war (WWII, if you’re in any
confusion), the BBC broadcast messages to resistance organizations in
Nazi-occupied countries. Things like, “Baby needs new shoes” or “Uncle Ralph
lost his eyeglasses”. There would be a whole string of this sort of thing, and the “baby” one might mean “blow the bridge tonight” to a group in Bruges, and “Uncle Ralph” could announce “arms drop tomorrow” to a cell in Bordeaux.
As the buildup to the invasion of France progressed,
it was decided to use the opening lines from Paul Verlaine’s “Chanson d’automne” to signal resistance
groups in France to engage in specific acts of sabotage—destroy lines of
communication, railroads, bridges, etc., to hinder the German ability to
counterattack in the early days of acquiring a toehold on the continent.
Broadcasting the first three lines meant: invasion
is coming within two weeks; get ready. It went out over the airwaves on 1 June,
1944. The next three lines meant: invasion within 48 hours; start the
destruction. That was broadcast 5 June, 1944, 45 minutes before midnight, when
the armada was on its way.
I’ve read other French poets since then (I was in
junior high when I started studying WWII), but—leaving aside the historical
reference—I really like the imagery in this one. “Les sanglot longs des violons
de l’automne blessent mon coeur”… The long sobs of the violins of autumn wound
my heart—doesn’t that just strike home?
Chanson
d’automne
Les
sanglots longs
Des
violons
De
l'automne
Blessent
mon coeur
D'une
langueur
Monotone.
Tout
suffocant
Et
blême, quand
Sonne
l'heure,
Je
me souviens
Des
jours anciens
Et
je pleure
Et
je m'en vais
Au
vent mauvais
Qui
m'emporte
Deçà,
delà,
Pareil
à la
Feuille
morte.
If you’d like the English, here you go:
The long sobs
Of the violins
Of Autumn
Wound my heart
With a monotonous
Languor.
All choked
And pale, when
The hour chimes,
I remember
Days of old
And I cry
And I’m going
On an ill wind
That carries me
Here & there,
As if a
Dead leaf.
No comments:
Post a Comment