Is it just a simple street or something more significant that we see here at Rue Pierre de Geyter? It is more than just a street. It is a tribute to a man whose music ignited a global movement. This is a place to remember Pierre Degeyter, the composer of The Internationale.
Pierre Degeyter was born in Ghent, Belgium in 1848. His family moved to Lille when he was seven. They sought work in the textile factories. He started working in textile mills around the age of ten. He attended night school to develop his skills. Even then Degeyter showed musical talent. He and his brother entertained workers with melodies and lyrics.
Later, Pierre Degeyter worked at the Compagnie Fives-Lille iron foundry. Lille was a hotbed for workers associations then. Pierre became choirmaster of La Lyre des Travailleurs. This was a workers choral society. It was a political post of importance because political songs mattered.
Gustave Delory, a socialist leader, gave Degeyter a collection of poems. The poems were by Eugene Pottier. Delory suggested Degeyter set them to music. He wanted a revolution song. Degeyter found a poem titled Internationale. Pottier had written it in 1871. Degeyter created a melody that resonated with the working class.
In July 1888, The Internationale was first sung in a Lille cafe. It was sold as pamphlets to support the Socialist party. The song became an anthem for the Socialist movement. It spread from Lille to France and then worldwide.
The Internationale caused Degeyter problems. Although his name was abbreviated on the pamphlets, he was identified. He lost his job due to the song’s revolutionary message. Financial difficulties led him to Saint-Denis near Paris. There he worked as a lamplighter.
Degeyter faced more hardship. His brother Adolphe falsely claimed copyright to The Internationale in 1901. Pierre won the lawsuit but only after Adolphe’s suicide in 1916. The decision was reversed in 1922 based on Adolphe’s suicide note.
The Internationale became the Soviet Union’s national anthem. In 1927, Soviet leaders learned Degeyter was still alive. He was invited to Moscow for the October Revolution’s 10th-anniversary celebration. Joseph Stalin awarded him a state pension.
Despite his fame, Pierre Degeyter lived modestly. He collected fees for other poems and tunes. He received a free apartment from Saint-Denis. Still, he spent his last years in precarity.
After his death in 1932, 50,000 people attended his funeral. His name faded, but his music lived on. French courts ruled his compositions copyrighted until 2017. There is a Pierre Degeyter street in Ghent. There are also Pierre Degeyter squares in Lille and Saint-Denis. Lille even named a procession giant after him.
So, as you walk along Rue Pierre de Geyter, remember the man. Remember his dedication to workers’ rights. Think of the power of music and activism that shaped the world.