La guillotine permanente

La guillotine permanente ("The permanent Guillotine") is a French revolutionary song from the French Revolution. The lyrics regard the guillotine and its usage as a weapon of the revolution.

Background

Historic circumstances

Around the year 1789, the National Constituent Assembly was debating about a new criminal law for France. Among the representatives of the bourgeoisie was the doctor Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who argued for an equalization of the capital punishment. He suggested that all executions may be carried out as a beheading through a "simple mechanism". Guillotin's efforts lead to beheading machines being referred to as "Guillotine" when they were first regularly used in the year 1792. (Misleadingly, Guillotin is often called the "inventor of the guillotine". The lyrics of La guillotine permanente say that Guillotin "made" the machine. In reality, Guillotin was not involved in the design and construction of the guillotine.)

The melody

The melody of La guillotine permanente was known long before the French Revolution; its roots date back to the 16th century. The old folk song Si le roi m'avait donné is sung to this melody, Molière quoted it in his comical work The Misanthrope, which premiered in the year 1666. The lyrics of La guillotine permanente are not the only ones written to this melody during the French Revolution.

Lyrics

Annotations

Melody

Trivia

La guillotine permanente can be heard in the video game Assassin's Creed Unity, which is set in the French Revolution.

During the Paris Commune of 1871, the communards sang many songs from the French Revolution with updated lyrics about the new commune including a version of La guillotine permanente now changed to Vive la Commune.

Recordings

• Catherine Ribeiro: 1989… Déjà ! (1988)
• Jean-Louis Caillat: Chansons de la Révolution (1989)
• Marc Ogeret: Chante La Révolution (1989)

Footnotes

1. French Revolution
2. 2023 in Legacy Fighting Alliance
3. Glossary of French criminal law
4. Anarchism in Belgium