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Do You Hear the People Sing?

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"Do You Hear the People Sing?" ("French: À la volonté du peuple", literally To the will of the people, in the original French version) is one of the principal and most recognisable songs from the 1980 musical Les Misérables. It is sung twice in the opening and closing section of the stage musical.

"Do You Hear the People Sing?"
Song
Released1980
Composer(s)Claude-Michel Schönberg
Lyricist(s)Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel (French lyrics)
Herbert Kretzmer (English lyrics)

Overview

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The song, composed by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel (original French lyrics), and Herbert Kretzmer (English lyrics) is first sung in Act I by Enjolras and the other students at the ABC Cafe as they prepare themselves to launch a rebellion in the streets of Paris during the funeral procession of General Jean Maximilien Lamarque. The song is sung again in the finale as the concluding song or the d.c al fine of the musical. This second version, which immediately follows a number by Jean Valjean and others, is sung by the entire cast with revised lyrics, and becomes progressively louder and thunderous with each stanza.

The song is a revolutionary call for people to overcome adversity. The "barricades" referred to in the song are erected by the rebel students in the streets of Paris in the musical's second act. They are to draw the National Guard into combat and ignite a civilian uprising to overthrow the government, but their rebellion eventually fails. In the finale, the song transitions into a solemn hymn in which a world full of peace, freedom, and liberation is anticipated for all mankind.

Use in various languages

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  • The original French version of the musical did not end with the full ensemble singing this song; It only later became the musical's finale song when it was revamped for the English-language version. The French version would later be used in a short video referencing the musical to introduce the "Liberté" segment of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics.[1][2]
  • At a special concert marking the tenth anniversary of Les Misérables in 1995, "Do You Hear the People Sing?" was sung by 17 different actors who had played Jean Valjean around the world. Each actor sang a line of the song in his own language. The languages sung were English, French, German, Japanese, Hungarian, Swedish, Polish, Dutch, Norwegian, Czech, Danish, and Icelandic.
  • Another unofficial adaptation of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" is in Turkish, named "Duyuyor Musun Bizi İşte Çapulcu'nun Sesi" and sang during Gezi Park Protests.[3]
  • In Chinese-language speaking countries/regions, there are many versions of the song. A popular Mandarin Chinese (Standard Chinese/普通话) version: 民众呐喊[4] is a singable translation authentic to the original English lyrics. Other Chinese dialects include Cantonese – 問誰未發聲 and Taiwanese – 你敢有聽着咱的歌 versions are mixtures of dialect translation from the English lyrics and specific references to corresponding political protests (see below).
  • In June 2013, in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the song was adapted in Arabic and performed by all 27 contestants from across the Arab world on the final episode of season 2 of Arab Idol, and is titled "Hear the Voice of the Oppressed" (Arabic: سامع صوت المقهورين).[5] Another adaptation was created by Fabrica, an Egyptian theatrical team, in Egyptian dialect (سامع صوت الجماهير).[6] The song, among few others from the musical, was performed on Albernameg (episode 27 – season 3) and aired on 14 June 2013.[7]

Use as a protest song

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The song's title as a slogan in the 2014 Hong Kong protests.

There are unofficial adaptations of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" in Cantonese and Taiwanese, intended as actual protest songs; better known versions include "Asking Who That Hasn't Spoken Out" (問誰未發聲), written in Cantonese for Occupy Central with Love and Peace, and "Lí Kám Ū Thiann-tio̍h Lán Ê Kua" (你敢有聽着咱的歌) in Taiwanese Hokkien.[8]

The song can be heard in protests in Hong Kong as recently as September 2019, when students sang this song over the national anthem during a secondary school's opening assembly.[9][10][11] The song was initially removed on music platforms including QQ Music in mainland China because of its widespread usage in anti-extradition bill protests, while its English version was later removed from those platforms.[12]

Aside from the aforementioned Cantonese and Taiwanese Hokkien adaptations, The Telegraph said that the song "has long chimed with people protesting around the world", adding that it was heard at the 2011 Wisconsin protests, the 2013 protests in Turkey, and a protest against the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Australia in 2013.[8] It has also been used by anti-TTIP protesters who have interrupted TTIP congresses as flashmobs singing the song.[13]

The song was also used in support of the Maidan protests in 2014 by the group Ukraine 2020, who released a music video for the song on YouTube.[14]

In 2016, the song was used as a protest song in South Korea's nationwide Park Geun-hye resignation movement.[15]

In 2017, the song was translated into Filipino by theater artists Vincent de Jesus, Rody Vera, and Joel Saracho, and has been performed at rallies to protest the killing of activists and drug suspects under the administration of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte,[16] and again following the 2022 Philippine presidential election.

Iraqis involved in the protests in 2019 also released a video with the song used.[17]

In September 2020, a number of MSLU students in Minsk, Belarus, were detained after performing the song in the lobby of their educational institution. The students were protesting after president Alexander Lukashenko's disputed re-election.[18][19]

In April 2022, the song was used as a protest song in 2022 Sri Lankan protests against the government of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.[20]

In April 2022, a clip of the 2012 film version of the song circulated on Twitter in protest of the lockdown during the 2022 Shanghai COVID-19 outbreak. The clip was ultimately blocked by the Chinese government to stop further protest.[21]

Use in politics

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On 16 September 2016, during his presidential campaign, Donald Trump used the song in a rally in Miami under the parody title Les Déplorables, a response to Hillary Clinton's controversial "basket of deplorables" label.[22][23] On 15 November 2022, it was among the songs played before Trump announced his 2024 presidential campaign.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Paris Olympics kicks off with lavish boat parade, musical performances". NBC News. 27 July 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  2. ^ "The cultural references in the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, explained". Washington Post. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Duyuyor musun bizi İşte Çapulcunun Sesi Do you hear the people sing (HD)". YouTube. 18 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  4. ^ "中文演唱2分钟起 Do You Hear The People Sing?悲惨世界 民众呐喊 人民之歌 in Chinese from 2:00 闪聚 快闪". YouTube. 4 August 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Arab Idol – المشتركين الـ 27 – البؤساء". YouTube. 22 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  6. ^ ""فبريكا" تقدم المسرحية الغنائية "البؤساء" على مسرح باسم يوسف". Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  7. ^ "سامع صوت الجماهير؟". YouTube. 18 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  8. ^ a b Moore, Malcolm (30 September 2014). "How a song from Les Misérables became Hong Kong's protest anthem". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Hong Kong students sing Les Misérables song instead of national anthem – video". The Guardian. Reuters. 4 September 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  10. ^ Marks, Peter (13 August 2018). "The Hong Kong protesters have found an anthem in this song from 'Les Miz'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  11. ^ Regan, Helen; Westcott, Ben; George, Steve; Griffiths, James (16 June 2019). "Hong Kong protest sees hundreds of thousands call for city's leader to step down". CNN. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  12. ^ S.R. (14 June 2019). "Do you hear the people sing? Not in China". The Economist. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  13. ^ Doctorow, Cory (3 July 2015). "Flashmob choir interrupts TTIP congress". Boing Boing.
  14. ^ "Чи ви чуєте цей спів?". YouTube. 16 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  15. ^ ""박 대통령 퇴진" 추위 녹인 촛불 … 평화시위 새 역사 썼다". dt.co.kr.
  16. ^ Arias, Jacqueline (22 September 2017). "Filipino Version of Iconic 'Les Miserables' Song Becomes National Day of Protest Anthem". Preen. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  17. ^ "سارة ادم – هل تسمع غناء هذا الشعب". YouTube. 3 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  18. ^ Никита Мелкозеров; Александр Чернухо; Татьяна Ошуркевич (4 September 2020). "Жесткий разговор. Ректор МГЛУ покинула встречу со студентами и их родителями под крики "Позор!"". Onliner.by. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Masked Men Drag Protesting Belarusian Students Off the Streets". Voice of America. Reuters. 5 September 2020.
  20. ^ Hapu [@amritahapu] (16 April 2022). "so wonderful and powerful! #LesMiserables" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "China Web Users Race to Post Censored Video on Lockdown Troubles". Bloomberg News. 23 April 2022.
  22. ^ Robinson, Will (16 September 2016). "Donald Trump Enters Stage to 'Les Mis' Theme, Welcomes 'Deplorables'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  23. ^ Darcy, Oliver (16 September 2016). "Trump walks onstage to theme of 'Les Miserables,' greets 'deplorables' at his Miami rally". Business Insider. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  24. ^ Smith, David (16 November 2022). "Trump plays the ousted autocrat struggling to recapture past glory". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
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