Anthem · Protest and freedom · 1908 · Europe
Bandiera Rossa
An Italian workers' song of 1908 in praise of the red flag, the sign of the socialist and communist movements.
- Words
- Carlo Tuzzi
- Music
- traditional (the melody is taken from two Lombard folk songs)
- Culture
- the Italian labour movement; socialist and communist parties
- Language
- Italian
- Place
- Italy (the melody from Lombardy)
- Date
- 1908
- Type
- Anthem · Protest and freedom
- The words
- Public domain (lyrics by Carlo Tuzzi, written 1908; melody from two Lombard folk songs)
The story
"Bandiera Rossa" ("Red Flag") is one of the best-known songs of the Italian labour movement. It celebrates the red flag as the symbol of the socialist and communist movements. Carlo Tuzzi wrote the text in 1908 and set it to a melody taken from two Lombard folk songs. The song is often called by its opening words instead, partly to avoid confusion with "Le tre bandiere", another Italian socialist song.
The text did not stay fixed. Several variants came to be identified with particular socialist or communist parties. After the rise of Benito Mussolini, two closing lines in praise of communism and liberty were added and the opening line was changed; in more recent renderings the word for communism at the end of the chorus is often replaced by the word for socialism.
The song has been sung in many languages, among them English, Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian, German, French, Swedish, Turkish, Kurdish, Finnish, Maltese, Russian, Esperanto, Indonesian, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi, Vietnamese and Filipino. Composers and performers have returned to it: Frederic Rzewski quoted it in two piano works of the 1970s, punk bands in Yugoslavia and Britain recorded it from the 1980s, and the 1986 Israeli film named after its opening words shows Israeli and Egyptian soldiers singing it mockingly in the Sinai after the 1967 War.
What it says
A song in praise of the red flag as the emblem of the workers' cause. It calls working people forward to struggle and ends in a cheer for communism (or, in later versions, socialism) and liberty. Its mood is rousing and confident.
The words
Avanti popolo, alla riscossaForward, people, to the fight back,
bandiera rossa, bandiera rossa;red flag, red flag;
avanti popolo, alla riscossaforward, people, to the fight back,
bandiera rossa trionferà.the red flag will triumph.
Bandiera rossa la trionferàThe red flag, it will triumph,
bandiera rossa la trionferàthe red flag, it will triumph,
bandiera rossa la trionferàthe red flag, it will triumph,
evviva il comunismo e la libertà!long live communism and freedom!
Avanti popolo, tuona il cannoneForward, people, the cannon thunders,
rivoluzione, rivoluzionerevolution, revolution,
avanti popolo, tuona il cannoneforward, people, the cannon thunders,
rivoluzione vogliamo far.revolution is what we want to make.
Rivoluzione noi vogliamo farRevolution is what we want to make,
rivoluzione noi vogliamo far,revolution is what we want to make,
rivoluzione noi vogliamo far;revolution is what we want to make;
evviva il comunismo e la libertà.long live communism and freedom.
Show all 48 lines
Bandiera rossa dove sei stataRed flag, where have you been?
sei ritornata, sei ritornatayou have come back, you have come back,
bandiera rossa dove sei statared flag, where have you been?
sei ritornata a sventolar.you have come back to wave.
Rivoluzione noi vogliamo farRevolution is what we want to make,
rivoluzione noi vogliamo far,revolution is what we want to make,
rivoluzione noi vogliamo far;revolution is what we want to make;
evviva il comunismo e la libertà.long live communism and freedom.
Sei ritornata con il tuo martelloYou have come back with your hammer,
falce e martello falce e martellosickle and hammer, sickle and hammer,
sei ritornata con il tuo martelloyou have come back with your hammer,
falce e martello trionferà.sickle and hammer will triumph.
Rivoluzione noi vogliamo farRevolution is what we want to make,
rivoluzione noi vogliamo far,revolution is what we want to make,
rivoluzione noi vogliamo far;revolution is what we want to make;
evviva il comunismo e la libertà.long live communism and freedom.
Dai campi al mare alle miniereFrom the fields to the sea, to the mines,
rosse bandiere rosse bandierered flags, red flags,
dai campi al mare alle minierefrom the fields to the sea, to the mines,
rosse bandiere sventoleran.red flags will wave.
Rivoluzione noi vogliamo farRevolution is what we want to make,
rivoluzione noi vogliamo far,revolution is what we want to make,
rivoluzione noi vogliamo far;revolution is what we want to make;
evviva il comunismo e la libertà.long live communism and freedom.
Non più nemici non più frontiereNo more enemies, no more frontiers:
sono i confini rosse bandierethe borders are red flags,
o proletari alla riscossaO proletarians, to the fight back,
bandiera rossa trionferà.the red flag will triumph.
Bandiera rossa la trionferàThe red flag, it will triumph,
bandiera rossa la trionferàthe red flag, it will triumph,
bandiera rossa la trionferàthe red flag, it will triumph,
evviva il comunismo e la libertà!long live communism and freedom!
Original: Anonymous; first words by Carlo Tuzzi (1908). Text from Wikisource; public domain.
The English is the Institute’s own translation, made from the original for this page.
Notes on the translation (5)
- line 1.1: 'alla riscossa' = to the counter-attack, to rise up and win back what was lost.
- line 2.1: 'la trionferà': 'la' is the popular, northern Italian subject pronoun ('it'), repeating 'bandiera rossa'.
- line 3.4: 'rivoluzione vogliamo far' = literally 'revolution we want to make'.
- line 11.2: 'sono i confini rosse bandiere' = the borders are red flags (the only borders left are the red flags).
- source: the imported original has the stanza line numbers (4, 8, 12 … 48) run into the last line of each stanza ('4bandiera rossa', ' 8 evviva'); they are not translated. The import should drop them (nonum or a text fix).
Listen
On YouTube, from the channel Bandiera Rossa - Topic. Pressing play loads YouTube’s player. Watch on YouTube
What it inspired
- No Place to Go but Around (Frederic Rzewski) 1974quoted in
- The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (Frederic Rzewski) 1975quoted in
- Pankrti, Rdeči album 1984cover
- KUD Idijoti, Legendarni uživo 1986cover (live)
- Avanti Popolo, film 1986title taken from the song; sung in a scene
- KUD Idijoti, Mi smo ovdje samo zbog para 1990cover
- Angelic Upstarts, Sons of Sparticus 2002recording
- Tarneybackle, medley of Spanish Civil War musicrecording
What it drew on
- Two Lombard folk songsmelody taken from them
People, places and events
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Bandiera Rossa", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandiera_Rossa
- Chris Elliott, "Battle lines drawn over the origins of the Bandiera Rossa", The Guardian, 2015 (further reading)
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bandiera Rossa. In Songs in History. https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/bandiera-rossa
- MLA
- “Bandiera Rossa.” Songs in History, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/bandiera-rossa. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Bandiera Rossa.” Songs in History. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/bandiera-rossa.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bandiera Rossa’, Songs in History. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/bandiera-rossa (Accessed: ).