Bastille Day

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“Bastille Day” recounts the history of the eponymous French and Canadian holiday. Bastille Day is celebrated on July 14th; it commemorates that day in 1789 when French… Read More

Sep. 24, 19751 viewer11.2K views

Bastille Day Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Ooh, there's no bread, let 'em eat cake
There's no end to what they'll take
Flaunt the fruits of noble birth
Wash the salt into the earth

[Chorus]
But they're marching to Bastille Day
The guillotine will claim her bloody prize
Free the dungeons of the innocent
The king will kneel and let his kingdom rise

[Verse 2]
Ooh, bloodstained velvet, dirty lace
Naked fear on every face
See them bow their heads to die
As we would bow when they rode by

[Chorus]
And we're marching to Bastille Day
The guillotine will claim her bloody prize
Sing, oh choirs of cacophony
The king has kneeled to let his kingdom rise

[Instrumental Break]
[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 3]
Lessons taught but never learned
All around us, anger burns
Guide the future by the past
Long ago the mould was cast

[Chorus]
For they marched up to Bastille Day
The guillotine claimed her bloody prize
Hear the echoes of the centuries
Power isn't all that money buys
Oh!

About

“Bastille Day” recounts the history of the eponymous French and Canadian holiday. Bastille Day is celebrated on July 14th; it commemorates that day in 1789 when French citizens stormed the Bastille prison and launched the French Revolution. The song’s lyrics celebrate the subjugation of the rich and powerful at the hands of the poor and oppressed, and warn of the dangers of not learning the historical lessons offered by such events.