Olympics 2012: The secrets behind anthems

After it was written in 1792, the song quickly spread across Europe, inspiring revolutionaries from Greece to Russia. It has even been part of recent uprisings. It was sung at the Tiananmen Square protests in China. Unfortunately, its composer never managed a similar level of success. Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle wrote La Marseillaise in just a few feverish hours, after being asked for a song to inspire French troops preparing for war against Austria.

But over the next 44 years of his life, he never managed another memorable tune. At one point, he even turned to writing somewhat bawdy lyrics, presumably because he was so desperate for money.