I believe this song was originally a WWII song, but was then turned into a protest song (I could very well be wrong on this point). I heard some people singing it at a socialist rally in Paris last summer. Unfortunately, my French is very poor, so I could not understand the lyrics, but I’m pretty sure I remembered how part of the refrain went (spelled phonetically):
“MON-tee-vay, MON-tee-vay…”
I’ve tried google searches on all of the different ways I can think of to spell it (montiver, montivez, montivet, mantivez, mon tivez, etc.) and searches on “French war songs” or “French protest songs” with no luck. Any French dopers or expats in France able to help me out? I really appreciate any help.
Of course you were far off… However, this song was written by a politically active group from the city of Toulouse (South of France, also dubbed “la ville rose”, “the pink city”, due to its buildings, but that’s quite a digression) called Zebda. The chorus goes “Motivés, motivés
Il faut rester motivés !
Motivés, motivés
Il faut se motiver !
Motivés, motivés
Soyons motivés !
Motivés, motivés
Motivés, motivés !”
and is now commonly used as a slogan. You may find the full text at www.paroles.net. Hope this helps! Salut!
Actually, ryanbobo wasn’t that far off. Zebda’s song motivés is an adaptation of a WWII resistance song called Le chant des partisans. The original song, written by Maurice Druon and Joseph Kesse on music by Anna Marly, was used as the musical theme to a French programme that was broadcasted on the BBC in 1943-44. Druon and Kesse were active members of the resistance who went on to become famous novellists and members of the Académie Française. Druon even did a stint as culture minister. Le chant des partisans does not feature the chorus “motivés, motivés” so it’s indeed the Zebda song that you heard.