This takes inspiration from SpamuelSonofSpamothy's "The Proper Occasion - A Commentary on Washington's Farewell" and I tried something similar here, although without the magnificently dated/styled verbiage. Chef's kiss.


Vive Pershing is the cry across the sea,

We're united in this fight for liberty,

France sent us a soldier, brave la Fayette,

Whose deeds and fame we cannot forget

Now that we have a chance,

We'll pay our debt to France!


'Vive Pershing is the cry across the sea'

This line may evoke confusion even in the studied reader, considering the common understanding that the honorable General of the Armies Pershing's first name was John. Judge Julian has argued this may have been in line with a practice during the period of adopting a "Christian name" to curry favor among Christians, but even then, the General of the Armies was called Black Jack, not Vive.

Americanist scholars familiar with the languages of Texas and Louisiana have proposed the widely held belief that 'vive' was an ancient cheer or salutation, wishing long life upon Pershing. Considering the origins of LaFayette and the Louisianan people in France, this is a compelling theory, but our knowledge of America's oldest ally is limited.

The Judges have always insisted that the varying realms of Europe are (or were) extant places, parted from us by the difficulties of crossing the sea after the Event instead of being parted in a metaphysical sense.

That this song considers France a place where an army can be sent seems to strongly favor its existence. The recent theory of Europe as the mythical, inaccessible realm of man's origin would obliterate the accomplishments of the honorable General of the Armies for a vague spiritual victory.


'We're united in this fight for liberty'

This fight for liberty is understood to be the Great War, a conflict well-known among historians, both for 'heroes proved in liberating strife' and for the various breeds of tyranny that were borne from its ending. Studies of Fascism, Communism, and the Big One itself are valuable, but outside the bounds of this research.

Like many of the texts surrounding LaFayette, we see the idea that Providence's blessings are not restrained to one nation, even if they were poured upon America in special abundance. This most evident in the case of France, which shed the old ways of monarchy, but even Britain's monarchy fought in the side of Providence.

While the Judges have argued that liberty in governance is served best by a Republic, Britain's presence among the Entente and LaFayette's title of Marquis show that Monarchy, as a system, does not blot out the light of freedom entirely.


'France sent us a soldier, brave LaFayette, whose deeds and fame we cannot forget,'

We have not forgotten the famed LaFayette now, and even those who do not recognize Providence's special relation with the Founders note him. The Columbian Commonwealth still has a county who bears that Frenchman's name, while New York counts a memorial to the man among her holy sites.

(Curiously, study of the histories seems to imply that the memorial to LaFayette predates this song and the Great War. America joined the conflict in CE 1917, while the monument was ordered earlier. Providence, it seems, works in a subtle way.)

While Founders like Washington were already well educated in the arts of war, figures like LaFayette and less attested von Steuben provided military advice and aid to the American army in its earliest form.

Again, we see how Providence works through all. It is well known that President and General of the Armies Washington defeated the Hessians, a group of Germans separate from the Prussian von Steuben. Germany would eventually be united, growing into an empire of the most odious tyranny twice.

The fate of Germany should serve as a reminder to us. Steuben was for liberty, and the Hessians were against it, in the same way that each Americanist is left to choose his path in the world with Providence as his guide. The President's power may struggle to reach beyond their domain, leaving Americanist rulers to chose their goals for themselves.

France sent LaFayette. The President may not have sent you personally, but Providence did. Will you be a Hessian hireling, or a new LaFayette?


'Now that we have a chance, we'll pay our debt to France!'

The debt to France is understood to be the aid of LaFayette, in addition to the supplies and ships of war that the French government used to aid America. A true Americanist should be able to recognize that America would not have won the war as she did without help from France. Of course, no man can say how the war would have gone without their aid, but the historical truth is that America owed a tremendous debt of gratitude to France and Providence.

Providence who delivered them, and France, the means that Providence used. As Judge Wooddrew said: "Providence saw fit to people the world beyond the bounds of America, so they might be enlightened in good time." Providence utilized nations outside of the bounds of America to help bring the American Dream to fulfillment, with the aim of American freedom eventually spreading over the seas.

If America's debt was not repaid in full after the Great War, it was paid back in excess with the Liberation of France during the Big One. Perhaps that repayment began earlier than the Great War, with the initial sparks that lit the fire of the French Revolution. Despite attempts by the forces of Tyranny, the fire of Republicanism sprung to life again and again, and in good time it lit the very torch that stands above New York still.

The debt America owed to France was historical. Simple fact. However, it was also a lesson from Providence: that it is not fitting for the manifold blessings of freedom to stay restrained to American soil.


Wooddrew is a somewhat purposeful corruption of Woodrow, but refers to a post-event scholar, not a corrupted quote from the man himself.