"Leaving for Syria" was the unofficial national anthem of the Second French Empire. The music was composed by Hortense de Beauharnais, and the lyrics were written by Alexandre de Laborde in the early 19th century.
Background[]
The song was inspired by Napoleon I's campaign in Egypt and Syria. It represents a chivalric composition of the aspirations of a crusader knight in a style typical of the First French Empire. Hortense (Napoleon I's stepdaughter and the mother of Napoleon III) indicated in her "Memoires" that she wrote the music when she lived at Malmaison. During its popularity in the 19th century, the song was arranged for numerous instruments by various composers.
The poem by Laborde was originally titled "Le beau Dunois", telling the story of the handsome crusader Dunois. Prior to his departure to Syria, he prays to the Virgin Mary that he will love the most beautiful woman and that he himself may be the bravest, and his prayers are answered. On his return, the brave warrior wins the hand of Isabella, the daughter of his liege lord, and love and honor prevail.
Popularity[]
The song was popular during the remainder of the First Empire, with Hortense in her exile at Arenenberg, and with the Bonapartists during the Bourbon Restoration. "Partant pour la Syrie" was the unofficial national anthem during the Second Empire, an era when "La Marseillaise" was regarded with suspicion. After the collapse of the Second Empire, the song was played to the Emperor Napoleon III as he departed from Schloss Wilhelmshöhe to his exile in England in 1871, but by the time of Empress Eugénie's funeral in 1920, the band did not know it and played "La Marseillaise" instead. "Partant pour la Syrie" did, however, achieve a posthumous fame as one of the quoted tunes in "Fossils" from Camille Saint-Saëns's "Carnival of the Animals", written in 1886 but not published until 1922.
Lyrics[]
| French original | English translation |
|---|---|
Partant pour la Syrie, |
Leaving for Syria, |