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Several parts of the song were altered by Boris Vian at the request of and in collaboration with Michel
Mouloudji, who was the only singer willing to record it. The biggest change is in the last stanza. In the original version, the deserter has a weapon and intends to defend himself against the
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on that day in concert, and he recorded it a week later. Its sale and broadcast were however forbidden by the French national radio committee until 1962. The first translation was in 1956 into
Esperanto. It was later translated into German (1959 by
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forces of law if they pursue him. In the version of
Mouloudji (used by many subsequent artists) he promises to be unarmed and be ready to die if pursued. The following is the altered French stanza and its English translation:
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Esperanto
Version of 1956 by Georges Lagrange, directly based on Boris Vian's original and the oldest translation of the song in any language, in
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Das
Protestlied „Le déserteur“ von Boris Vian: Wahrnehmung und Aneignung in Frankreich und in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland der 1960er Jahre
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The song is in the form of a letter to the French president from a man explaining his reasons for refusing the call to arms and becoming a
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Writer and musician Boris Vian was a heavy critic of the French colonial wars of the 1950s. Due to the heavy criticism expressed in
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The resulting version, in spite of its pacifist leaning, was banned from 1954 to 1962 from public broadcast.
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in 1967. "The
Deserter" was one of four Vian songs translated into English and released as a 1983
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318:"Esther Ofarim - Esther and Abi Ofarim - Esther & Abi Ofarim - Ofraim אסתר עופרים"
394:, with the complete history of the song in French, Italian and English, from website
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43:" (The Deserter) is a famous anti-war song written by the French poet and musician
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and Joan Ollé, 1980 by Joan Isaac), Danish (1964 by Per Dich), Spanish (1986 by
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401:"Le Deserteur (Monsieur le President)" performed by Esther & Abi Ofarim
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47:. It was first performed on the day of the decisive French defeat in the
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Philippe Boggio, Boris Vian, Paris, Le Livre de poche, 1995, p. 405 (
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In the late 1970s, the song was covered by nuclear protesters in
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260:information about the first english translation in
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350:. J. B. Lippincott Company. pp.
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197:That I won't be carrying a weapon,
111:, 2003 by Manuel Talens, later by
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168:A stanza of the song appears in
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18:Le Déserteur (Boris Vian song)
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682:Esther & Abi Ofarim songs
637:Songs about letters (message)
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199:and that they can shoot me.
113:José Manuel Caballero Bonald
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677:Peter, Paul and Mary songs
460:Vercoquin and the Plankton
292:"Boris Vian, Le déserteur"
190:Et qu'ils pourront tirer.
188:Que je n'aurai pas d'armes
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642:Songs about the military
342:Pynchon, Thomas (1963).
131:by New Zealand musician
267:"Broadside", edition 50
121:Esther & Abi Ofarim
527:Je voudrais pas crever
212:List of anti-war songs
186:Prévenez vos gendarmes
184:Si vous me poursuivez,
117:Peter, Paul & Mary
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508:Turmoil in the Swaths
468:Froth on the Daydream
452:I Spit on Your Graves
265:, first published in
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632:Songs about soldiers
553:Fais-moi mal, Johnny
195:Warn your policemen,
672:Works by Boris Vian
667:Music controversies
139:sang it during the
49:First Indochina War
97:Wojciech Młynarski
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579:L'écume des jours
373:978-2-253-13871-6
193:If you pursue me,
159:Giscard d'Estaing
69:Giorgio Calabrese
16:(Redirected from
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233:antiwarsongs.org
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163:Plogoff struggle
123:for their album
89:Ernst van Altena
56:Marcel Mouloudji
51:on May 7, 1954.
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65:John Brunner
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41:Le Déserteur
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33:Le Déserteur
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590:(2013 film)
587:Mood Indigo
563:Adaptations
141:Vietnam War
133:Bill Direen
73:Luigi Tenco
61:Gerd Semmer
647:1954 songs
626:Categories
437:Boris Vian
302:27 October
298:(in Dutch)
280:, archived
218:References
91:, sung by
71:, sung by
45:Boris Vian
662:Desertion
172:'s novel
137:Joan Baez
101:Huw Jones
555:" (1955)
548:" (1954)
327:29 April
206:See also
155:Brittany
148:deserter
161:in the
602:Portal
530:(1962)
519:Poetry
511:(1966)
503:(1953)
495:(1950)
487:(1947)
479:(1947)
471:(1947)
463:(1946)
455:(1946)
444:Novels
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125:2 In 3
616:Music
538:Songs
352:18–19
369:ISBN
329:2021
304:2014
79:and
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129:EP
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