The world's most famous socialist anthem was written by a Parisian transport worker

Music · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Eugène Pottier, a Parisian transport worker, penned the lyrics to The Internationale in 1871. While it became the anthem of the Soviet Union and global revolutionary movements, its origins were humble. The song’s path from a poem to a globally recognized melody is a story of fraud, lawsuits, and exile.

The Internationale began as a poem written by Eugène Pottier in June 1871, shortly after the collapse of the Paris Commune. Pottier, a member of the First International, initially intended for his verses to be sung to the tune of La Marseillaise. He lived in exile in Britain and the United States following the Commune's defeat, and his work was eventually published in his 1887 collection, Chants Révolutionnaires.

The iconic melody known today was composed in 1888 by Pierre De Geyter, a woodcarver and member of the French Workers' Party in Lille. The song’s rise to prominence was tied to the success of the Second International, which adopted it as its official anthem. Despite its fame, the authorship of the music was mired in controversy. De Geyter’s brother, Adolphe, was manipulated by local politician Gustave Delory into claiming credit for the composition to protect Pierre’s employment. Pierre De Geyter only secured legal recognition for his work in 1922, long after his brother had died by suicide.

The First International itself, which provided the ideological backdrop for the song, was founded in London in 1864. It was a federation of workers' groups that struggled with internal divisions between Marxists, anarchists, and other socialist factions. Although it was often perceived as a massive, well-funded organization, its actual core membership was likely small, rarely exceeding 20,000 people. The organization eventually disbanded in 1876 following a major split between Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin at the 1872 Hague Congress.

The anthem’s legacy extended far beyond its origins, serving as the Soviet national anthem from 1918 to 1944. Its journey through the 20th century included complex copyright battles, including a 1972 acquisition by a German company that collected royalties for decades. Today, the lyrics and the music are in the public domain, marking the end of a long, contentious history for a song that once defined the aspirations of global labor movements.

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