'You have nothing if you have no rights’: Reiterations of communal freedom through Billy Bragg’s translation of The Internationale

Abstract

This study undertakes an analysis of Billy Bragg’s translation of “The Internationale” as performed in 1989 at the Vancouver Folk Festival and featured on his 1990 album with the same title. The translator’s agency is examined through an exploration of textual features, including translation strategies, alongside metatextual factors, encompassing paratextual (presentation), extratextual (intention and purpose), and contextual parameters (socio-cultural and political elements). The concept of recontextualization is substantiated through two comparisons: (1) between the original 1871/1888 version (comprising lyrics by the Frenchman Eugène Pottier and music by the Belgian Pierre De Geyter) and Bragg’s new translation over a century later, and (2) between Bragg’s translation and earlier English translations. This multifaceted analysis provides insights into Bragg’s approach to rendering “The Internationale” into English, highlighting how the translator’s agency contributes to the translation’s recontextualisation.