Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 11:09 PM

Is the song pre-WW1? Comments in "Sound Off" point to an earlier British version. Some verses with the word 'skiboo' have appeared in Geliher posting). I apologise if I am re-doing an older post which I skipped over.

Quoting Dolph- "The tune and verse structure of "Hinky Dinky" are based on a song that had been known in the British Army for many years. Major Thomas P. Gordon (deceased), Philippine Scouts, who as a young man had served in the British Army under Kitchener in the Sudan, once told me that in those days the British soldiers used to sing a song of similar tune and verse structure. He quoted this stanza, which is almost identical with one in "Hinky Dinky.":

Oh, landlord, have you a daughter fair,
Skiboo, skiboo,
Oh, landlord have you a daughter fair,
Skiboo, skiboo,
Oh, landlord have you a daughter fair
With lily-white arms and golden hair?
Skiboo, skiboo, skiboodley-boo, skidam, dam, dam.

"Furthermore, in a little booklet called "Tommy's Tunes," published by a British Lieutenant during the war, this same stanza is included with the statement that it is from an "heirloom of the British Army which contains over forty stanzas" and is the forerunner of the "Ma'm'selle from Armentières.""
Dolph, "Sound Off," Soldier Songs," p. 82ff.

Dolph has two pages of WW1 verses, and a page of post-war stanzas, some of which I don't believe have appeared here yet.

Has anyone seen the booklet, "Tommy's Tunes"?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 11:53 PM

Sure have. Will post lyrics tomorrow.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 10:09 AM

From "Tommy's Tunes," 1918:

                              SKIBOO

             Two German officers crossed the Rhine,
                                        Skiboo, skiboo,
             Two German officers crossed the Rhine,
                                        Skiboo, skiboo,
             These German officers crossed the Rhine
             To love the women and taste the wine,
             Skiboo skiboo skiboodley boo ski dam dam dam.


             They came to an inn at the top of a rise...
             A famous French inn of stupendous size....
             They saw a maiden all dimples and sighs....
             The two together said "Damn her eyes!"...

             "Oh, landlord you've a daughter fair.... [3 times]
             With lily-white arms and golden hair. . . .

             "Nein, nein, mein Herr, she's far too young....
             "Nein, nein, mein Herr, she's far too young...."
             "Mais non, mon pere, I'm not so young,
             I've often been kissed by the farmer's son!"...

This is the earliest printing of this song, so far as I have discovered.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 10:12 AM

Was about to add, before the computer curt me off, that the bowdlerizations will be obvious to anyone familiar with franker texts.
But stanza 2, presumably genuine in essence, is not quite paralleled elsewhere.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 01:48 PM

Probably not new to Lighter, but I hadn't seen these posted here before:
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parlez vous (2x)
She's the hardest working girl in town,
But she makes her living upside down!
Hinky dinky parlez vous.

--
The cooties rambled through her hair,
She whispered sweetly "C'est la Guerre."

Doughboy Music

Robokopp says the early WW1 lyrics have been attributed to Edward Rowland, 1915, and the melody attr. to Glitz Rice, 1915.
"...many sources credit it to the British Army of India under the name "Skiboo.""

Nine months later she gave a grunt,parlez vous (2x)
Nine months later she gave a grunt,
And a fat little Prussian popped out her cunt.

The fat little Prussian he grew and grew, p. v.,
The fat little Prussian he grew and grew,
He fucked the cat and the donkey too.

The fat little Prussian he went to hell, p.v.,
The fat little Prussian he went to hell,
He fucked the devil and his wife as well.

Made a Mam'selle
(Couldn't resist the Made Mam'selle." Just remembered that from singing in camp.


? Could the name "Skiboo" have come from the Farmer Skiboo stories or the legendary strong man of the docks? The name appears in several connotations in the British Isles.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 04:43 PM

Robokopp's version is Gordon Hall's via Roy Palmer.

"Mlle. from Armentieres" has been attributed to Rowland & Rice, but no proof in the form of early sheet music has been forthcoming.

I do not know the composer/lyricist of the song sung by Jack Charman that I pointed out on Feb. 15, above: Rowland & Rice? It seems related to the more familiar song only by title, "parlez-vous," and the tune of the chorus.

At the risk of embarrassing myself - who is Farmer Skiboo? Who is the legendary strong man? What other connotations are there?

All I know about the word "Skiboo" is that "Skibo" is a village in Ireland. Or is it?

At least one collected version of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" (or "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl" in some renditions) has the refrain "skiball, skiball" in it. Another has "skeugaugh, skeugaugh."

What's goin' on here???

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,CoxComputing
Date: 23 Feb 04 - 11:07 PM

I am not a language expert, but I feel sometimes that I can associate "sound alike" words that show the development(or bastardization)of languages.
An example of this is that many people who arrived in the United States from Europe had their names inadvertantly changed because the interviewing immigration officers simply wrote down the name they "heard".
The phrase "Inky Pinky Parlez-vous" or "Inky Dinky Parlez-vous" could have developed because of misinterpretation. Variations in spelling are explained by the fact that many letters of the alphabet sound alike to the listener. Additionally, I doubt that the name of Chicago politician "Hinky-Dink" McKenna had any influence on the lyrics of this song.
The typical Mademoiselle from Armentières song is constructed of a series of "Parlez-vous" after each stanza, then "Inky Dinky Parlez-vous".
It is "understand", "understand", "understand", followed by "indicate you understand", the "indicate" being a mispronunciation of the French word "indiquez" ("Indicate" in English).
Why not consider this interpretation of the meaning of "Inky Dinky Parlez-vous" ? I haven't seen any other good explanation of it's origin.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 04 - 03:31 AM

My version is the same as Wassail! V's except at the end of every verse thing
ex:'Twas on the Resurrection morn
Taboo, Taboo
'Twas on the Resurrection morn
Taboo, Taboo
'Twas on the Resurrection morn
3 German Officers still had the horn

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 04 Mar 04 - 07:11 AM

Thanks, Guest. Am I right that yours is a non-US version?

British / Canadian / ANZAC versions are almost universally concerened with the German / Prussian officer(s) and the innkeeper's daughter.
US versions continue the adventures of the daughter's illegitimate son (a "little Marine") and generally add satirical topical stanzas.

Topical stanzas were still used for marching at Fort Benning, Georgia, as late as the Korean War.

Still looking for more texts and comments.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 04 Mar 04 - 03:14 PM

Lighter, Canadian versions that I have heard, and those verses printed in the Canadian "Songs From the Front and Rear" don't mention the German officers, but some verses mention the foibles and privileges of Canadian officers and non-coms (see version posted by Joe Offer early in this thread).

It seems that the earliest versions mention Skiboo or Taboo but not Hinky (is Inky a product of rugby fans and children?).

There are several Skiboos. Anyone know anything about the Northern Ireland mythical shipyard worker?- the only one that seems likely unless the farmer Skiboo tales are older than the current children's book.
1. Children's stories about Farmer Skiboo. Waddell and Fletcher. These seem to be current. Oxford Press. 2. Mythical shipyard worker in Northern Ireland. See Sam Hanna Bell, "Erin's Orange Lily," a book on Northern Ireland Culture. 3. Skibo Castle in Sutherland. From Schytherbole, Celtic for a place of peace. Once owned by Andrew Carnegie. Not worth considering are 4. Name for a group of skin diseases. 5. Computer programs, etc.

And the verse from "Jones' Ale"-

Chorus:
Wnen the landlord's daughter, she came in,
And we kissed those rosy cheeks again;
We all sat down and then we'd sing:
When Jones' Ale was new, me boys,
When Jones' Ale was new.

Supposedly based on the old (1815 thereabouts) German song, "The Landlord's Daughter," which I cannot find. The author, Uhland, was a German romantic. This song is mentioned in a thread here somewhere, without lyrics or information. It is mentioned as a possible precursor of the "Mademoiselle..."

Maybe Wolfgang can find the german song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 04 Mar 04 - 08:59 PM

The "plot" of "Frau Wirtin" ("The Innkeeper's Wife") by Uhland bears just enough resemblance to the "Skiboo/Snapoo/Taboo/Parlez-Vous" song
to suggest that the latter is a cynical, bawdy parody of it, but it is rash to claim that there "must" be a direct connection.

Will post an English translation shortly unless someone beats me to it. The assertion that "Skiboo," etc., stems from the Napoleonic Wars
has no factual basis, though it was apparently known, in some form, as early as the 1870's.

Q, thanks for the leads on "Skibo."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 05 Mar 04 - 12:06 AM

The later version of "Frau Wirtin," the many verses, some bawdy, of "Es steht ein Wirtshaus an der Lahn," could have been the inspiration for "Mademoiselle..." but, as you say, a sure connection cannot be claimed. The verses about the maid, the major with syphilis, the general, the Miss, etc., develop similar ideas. A couple of verses:

Frau Wirtin hat auch eine Magd
Die sitzt im garten und pflücht Salat.
Sie kann es kaum erwarten
Bis dass das Glöckchen zwölfe schlagt,
Da kommen die Soldaten.

Frau Wirtin also had a maid (servant)
Who sits in the garden and picks salad (lettuce)
She can hardly wait
Until the little bell strikes twelve,
Then the soldiers come.

Frau Wirtins Tochter Röschen hiess
Und sich von jedem küssen liess.
Offiziere un Studenten,
Die zahlen jährlich fünfzehn Mark
Und wurden Abonnenten.

A good long version, linked by Wolfgang in thread 61938, is at ingeb.org: Wirthaus an der Lahn

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 05 Mar 04 - 12:08 AM

The melody for "Es steht...." is much better than the tune for "Mademoiselle...."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Flash Company
Date: 05 Mar 04 - 10:49 AM

Flanagan & Allen had a song which they recorded in 1940 during the so-called phoney war:-
If a grey haired lady says 'How's your father'
That will be Mademoiselle,
If she smiles and says 'How's your father'
That will be Mademoiselle,
If she says 'Parlez vous, tout sweet tell me do
How is he after all these years?'
If the grey haired lady says 'Don't tell your mother'
That's mademoiselle from Armentieres!

FC

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 05 Mar 04 - 12:53 PM

Thanks, Flash Company. New stuff.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 05 Mar 04 - 05:25 PM

As a footnote to the above, Flanagan & Allen may be heard performing "If a Grey-Haired Lady Says 'How's Yer Father?'" on the CD Flanagan & Allen: Let's Be Buddies" (Empress RAJCD832, track 18.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 22 Mar 04 - 09:55 PM

Here's the German poem by Ludwig Uhland which "Three German Officers" is said to parody. Uhland seems to have written it around 1810.

                     DER WIRTINS TOECHTERLEIN

          Es zogen drei Bursche wohl ueber den Rhein,
          Bei einer Frau Wirtin da kehrten sie ein.

          <           Wo hat Sie ihr schoenes Toechterlein?>>

          <           Mein Toechterlein liegt auf den Totenbahr'.>>

          Und als sie traten zur Kammer hinein,
          Da lag sie in einem schwarzen Schrein.

          Der erste, der schlug den Schleier zurueck,
          Und schaute sie an mit traurigem Blick:

          <           Ich wuerde dich lieben von dieser Zeit!>>

          Der zweite deckte den Schleier zu,
          Und kehrte sich ab und weinte dazu:

          <           Ich hab' dich geliebt so manches Jahr.>>

          Der dritte hub ihn wieder sogleich,
          Und kuesste sie an den Mund so bleich.

          <           Und werde dich lieben in Ewigkeit!>>

In English:

                   THE LANDLADY'S LITTLE DAUGHTER

          Three students came wandering over the Rhine,
          And called at a Landlady's inn.

          "Landlady! Have you any good beer and wine?
          And where are you keeping your little daughter?"

          "My beer and wine are fresh and clear,
          My little daughter lies dead upon her bier."

          And when they stepped into the cold little room,
          There she lay in a casket of black.

          The first lad dashed the veil aside,
          And with sorrowful look gazed upon her:

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 22 Mar 04 - 10:30 PM

Sorry for the compuglitch. As I was saying,


          "Ah, if yet you lived, you lovely maid,
          I should have loved you from this moment on!"

          The second pulled the curtain to,
          And turned away and wept besides:

          "Alas, that you lie dead upon this bier,
          For I *have* loved you so many years!"

          The third rose up again at once,
          And kissed her on her lips so pale:

          "I've *always* loved you, I love you still today,
          And I *will* love you into Eternity!"

A literary English translation appeared by about 1856, but I have not yet dredged it up. The poem was eventually set to music, but I do not know what the music sounded like.

The suffix "-lein" is often translated as "little," but I believe it conveys strong overtones of "sweet" in this context.

What if anything the English bawdy song owes to Uhland's poem seems to be a matter of opinion only. The earliest recovered texts of the bawdy song, by the way, have only one German (or "Dutch") protagonist, not three.

Am open to comments and suggestions.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 21 Feb 05 - 06:22 PM

It's been a year. Any new 'Catters with uncollected verses? Anything with "hinky dinky" / "inky-pinky" / "taboo taboo," etc. will fill the bill. If you're out there, please tell me too where and when you learned 'em. Thanx.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armenti?res
From: GUEST,Joe_F
Date: 22 Feb 05 - 10:56 AM

W. H. Auden wrote a whole song on that pattern ("Passenger Shanty", 1938), but I'm afraid it is not in the spirit of the original:

The ship weighed twenty thousand ton

Parlez-vous

The ship weighed twenty thousand ton

Parlez-vous

She left Marseille at a quarter-to-one

For the China War and the tropical sun.

Inky-pinky parlez-vous.

(15 more stanzas)

--- Joe Fineman    [e-mail]

||: Tradition is a straitjacket; fashion is an iron maiden. :||

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 22 Feb 05 - 11:36 AM

Thanks, Joe. A nice surprise.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Lighter at work
Date: 29 Jun 05 - 09:12 AM

My search for traditionally learned versions is winding down, but I thought I'd refresh this one more time, just in case.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 29 Jun 05 - 12:10 PM

Just happened on this thread. In response to a question above:

"Skiboo," along with Skidoo, Skiball, Skibow, Skeubeugh and so on, come from the Irish "Usquebaugh," for "whiskey." The late Ben C. Moomaw, singer and song collector of Roanoke VA, and subsequently President of the VA Folklore Society, explained that to me when he sang this Civil War predecessor:

SKEBAUGH

In eighteen hundred and sixty-one,
Skebaugh, says I,
In eighteen hundred and sixty-one,
Skebaugh, says I,
In eighteen hundred and sixty-one
We beat the Yankees at Bull Run
And we'll all drink stone blind,
Johnny come fill up the bowl.

...sixty-two
We beat the Yankees through and through...

...sixty-three
Old Lincoln set the darkies free...

...sixty-four
I said I'd fight this war no more...

...sixty-five
We thanked the Lord we were alive...

Tune is more or less a major-key version of When Johnny Comes Marching Home.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 29 Jun 05 - 12:47 PM

Thanks so much, Bob. I've long suspected the connection between the refrains in some of the Civil War "Johnny" parodies and "skiboo, skiboo." The "Three German Officers" texts are very often sung to the "Johnny" tune, making me wonder whether that was the original, with the tune of "Hinky Dinky," in the major, coming as a later development. (Your own example suggests this is true!)

I had *not* imagined that "skeugaugh" could come from "usquebaugh," but, by cracky, that sounds to me like more than just a wild guess. Particularly when recalling that another refrain of "Johnny Fill up the Bowl" went "For bowls ! For bowls !" apparently a call for more to drink, which is presumably where "Usquebaugh !" (misheard as "skeebaw !" etc.) fits in. (The reported use of the refrain "For balls ! For balls !" (i.e., "For nothing !") in one "Johnny" parody, might well have encouraged the creation of new, thoroughly bawdy texts. Not that much encouragement was required.

So many Irish (and German)immigrants fought in the Civil War that these various cultural connections suggest a strong Civil War influence on what became the quintessential soldier song of the Great War.

All very interesting, IMO.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From:
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 01:54 PM

Attention O'Meara
re: NY 69th

My husband's father was in the 69th. Michael Gaffney--he rode a motorcycle. To think I know a verse that hasn't been posted here! Because of History Channel program about the Revolutionary War the subject of Washington came up which tickled my memory of Mademoiselle from Armentieres

Washington crossed the Delaware, parlez vous
Washington crossed the Delaware, parlez vous
Washington crossed the Delaware,
In his dirty underwear
Hinky-Dinky, parlez vous

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Clowance
Date: 13 Jun 06 - 01:30 PM

Clean version of the above taught to me at Brownies in the 1970s in England, went something like this:

The bomb went rolling down the street, parley vous;
The bomb went rolling down the street, parley vous;
The bomb went rolling down the street, parley vous;
Knocked a copper off his feet. Inky pinky parley vous

(more verses I dont remember)

Christopher Columbus drinking gin, parley vous;
Christopher Columbus drinking gin, parley vous;
Christopher Columbus drinking gin, parley vous;
Opened his mouth and the bomb went in. Inky pinky parley vous. BANG!

On reflection, probably not very suitable. Dont know its origin, sounds like a parody from WWII.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentieres
From: Schantieman
Date: 14 Jun 06 - 08:48 AM

We used to sing after Rugby matches...

(a line I can't remember...)
Parlez Vous
(the same line I can't remember...)
Parlez Vous
(the same line I can't remember...)
Did a fart and out it flew
Inky Pinky Parlez Vous.

The fart went rolling down the street
Knocked a copper off his feet

The copper got out his rusty pistol
Shot the fart from here to Bristol

Bristol Rovers playing at home
Kicked the fart from here to Rome

...as well as three dirty Germans crossing the line (or was it Rhine?), f*cking the women and drinking the wine etc.


Steve

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentieres
From: GUEST,Chicken Charlie
Date: 14 Jun 06 - 07:07 PM

Late to the party though I am, I scanned the page and did not find these two verses, which are American. Sorry if they repeat:

They say this is a mechanized war; parlez vous?
They say this is a mechanized war; parlez vous?
They say this is a mechanized war; what in the hell are we walking for? Inky dinky parlez vous?

And:

The second lieutenant carries a pack...
We hope to hell it breaks his back...

Chicken Charlie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentieres
From: GUEST,Laurent
Date: 26 Jun 06 - 04:32 PM

A French version :

Line Renaud
Mademoiselle from Armentières
        
Paroles: Louis Gasté. Musique: Louis Gasté, Pierre Guillermin   1952
© 1952 - Editions Louis Gasté

Un joli sourire de France
Des fossettes aux joues
Des cheveux tout fous
Des yeux bleus très doux
Sur son berceau dès sa naissance
Une bonne fée
D'un coup de baguette
Avait changé sa destinée

Mademoiselle from Armentières
Parlez-vous,
Mademoiselle from Armentières
Parlez-vous,
Elle n'avait pas encore parlé
Qu'elle savait déjà chanter
Mademoiselle from Armentières
Puis vint l'âge d'être écolière
D'apprendre à compter
D'apprendre à parler
Ça ça l'ennuyait
Mais faire l'école buissonnière
Ca, ça l'amusait
Toujours gaie comme un pinson
Elle chantait sa chanson
{au Refrain}

Mais un matin ce fut la guerre
Et tous les soldats
Qui passaient par-là
Se disaient tout bas
La voyant si belle et si fière
Ah ! Qu'on serait bien
Blottis dans ses bras
Douillettement jusqu'au matin
{au Refrain}

Quand on raconte cette histoire
Dans tous les pays
On ajoute aussi
Qu'elle eut un mari
Les gens qui ont bonne mémoire
Vont vous raconter
Qu'elle accepta d'épouser
Un colonel anglais

Mademoiselle from Armentières
Voulez-vous ?
Mademoiselle from Armentières
Voulez-vous
Comme elle lui répondit : "oui"
Elle eut un très gentil mari
Mademoiselle from Armentières.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentieres
From: GUEST,Bjarki
Date: 29 Jul 06 - 10:11 AM

Got a couple more verses in a show i'm teching for tonight, will try to note them down and post them tomorrow!

I know it's a little late but I thought it worth mentioning...

Bjarki

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentieres
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 08:52 PM

Thanks, Bjarki. I'm still interested in all aspects of "Mademoiselle" and related songs, especially in traditional versions.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentieres
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Sep 06 - 09:27 PM

Ethel Mermen's version from the "Ford's 50th Anniversary Show" Looks like the lyrics were cleaned up for t.v. Aired June 15th, 1953

Mademoiselle from Armentieres
Parlez-vous
Mademoiselle from Armentieres
Parlez-vous
Mademoiselle from Armentieres
She hadn't been hugged for forty years
Hinky-Dinky Parlez-vous

First marine went over the top
Parlez-vous
Second marine went over the top
Parlez-vous
Third marine went over the top
Because he had no place to stop
Hinky-Dinky Parlez-vous

The eiffel tower is quite a view
Parlez-vous
The eiffel tower is quite a view
Parlez-vous
The eiffel tower is quite a view
But when she saw me she went "Woo woo"
Hinky-Dinky Parlez-vous

Colonel got the Croix-de-Guerre
Parlez-vous
Colonel got the Croix-de-Guerre
Parlez-vous
Colonel got the Croix-de-Guerre
The son of a gun was never there
Hinky-Dinky Parlez-vous

The day we sailed away from france
Parlez-vous
The day we sailed away from france
Parlez-vous
The day we sailed away from france
We said goodbye and thought the rest
Hinky-Dinky Parlez-vous

Mademoiselle from Armentieres
Parlez-vous
Mademoiselle from Armentieres
Parlez-vous
She brushed her tooth and put on her hair
Cut or we'll be off the air
Hinky-Dinky Parlez-vous

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentieres
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Sep 06 - 01:08 PM

Thanks, GUEST, for a version that I'd heard of but not seen. Definitely laundered and revised for early TV, though several of the verses had already appeared in popular collections. ("Brushing her tooth" and "putting on her hair" are interesting novelties, though.)

Did some censor decide that "Brest," pronounced as though it were English, was risque' enough to be changed to "France"? That doesn't even rhyme!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Tom Hamilton frae Saltcoats Scotland
Date: 29 Dec 06 - 02:36 PM

Mademoiselle from Armentieres
Three German Officers crossed the Rhine

Melody - attr. to Glitz Rice, 1915; Seq. by Jim Sheldon

attr. to Edward Rowland, 1915

|: Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous, :|
Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
She hasn't been kissed for forty years,
Chorus:
Hinky-dinky parlez-vous.
2. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
She got the palm and the croix de guerre,
For washin' soldiers' underwear,
Chorus:

3. |: The Colonel got the Croix de Guerre,
Parlez-vous :|
The Colonel got the Croix de Guerre,
The son-of-a-gun was never there!
Chorus:

4. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
You didn't have to know her long,
To know the reason men go wrong!
Chorus:

5. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
She's the hardest working girl in town,
But she makes her living upside down!
Chorus:

6. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
The cooties rambled through her hair;
She whispered sweetly "C'est la guerre."
Chorus:
7. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
She'll do it for wine, she'll do it for rum,
And sometimes for chocolate or chewing gum!
Chorus:
8. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
You might forget the gas and shell
But you'll nev'r forget the Mademoiselle!
Chorus:

9. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
Where are the girls who used to swarm
About me in my uniform?
Chorus:

10. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from St. Nazaire,
Parlez-vous :|
The Mademoiselle from St. Nazaire,
She never washed her underwear.
Chorus:

11 |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Aix-Les-Bains,
Parlez-vous :|
Mademoiselle from Aix-Les-Bains,
She gave the Yankees shooting pains!
Chorus:

12. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Montparnasse,
Parlez-vous :|
As soon as she'd spy a Colonel's brass,
She'd take off her skirt and roll in the grass!
Chorus:




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|: Three German Officers crossed the Rhine,
Parlez-vous :|
Three German Officers crossed the Rhine
To fuck the women and drink the wine,
Chorus:
Hinky-dinky parlez-vous.
2. |: They came to the door of a wayside Inn,
Parlez-vous :|
They came to the door of a wayside Inn,
Pissed on the mat and walked right in,
Chorus:

3. |: Oh landlord have you a daughter fair?,
Parlez-vous :|
Oh landlord have you a daughter fair?
With lily-white tits and golden hair?,
Chorus:

4. |: My only daughter's far too young,
Parlez-vous :|
My only daughter's far too young,
To be fucked by you, you bastard Hun,
Chorus:

5. |: Oh father dear I'm not too young
Parlez-vous :|
Oh father dear I'm not too young
I've just been fucked by the blacksmith's son,
Chorus:

6. |: At last they got her on the bed,
Parlez-vous :|
At last they got her on the bed,
And shagged her 'til her cheeks were red,
Chorus:

7. |: They took her down a shady lane,
Parlez-vous :|
They took her down a shady lane,
And shagged her back to life again,
Chorus:
8. |: And then they took her to a bed,
Parlez-vous :|
And then they took her to a bed,
And shagged her til she was nearly dead,
Chorus:
9. |: They shagged her up they shagged her down,
Parlez-vous :|
They shagged her up they shagged her down,
They shagged her all around the town,
Chorus:

10. |: They shagged her in they shagged her out,
Parlez-vous :|
They shagged her in they shagged her out,
They shagged her up her water-spout,
Chorus:

11. |: Now seven months later all was well,
Parlez-vous :|
Now seven months later all was well,
Eight months later she began to swell,
Chorus:

12. |: Nine months later she gave a grunt,
Parlez-vous :|
Nine months later she gave a grunt,
And a little fat Prussian popped out her cunt,
Chorus:

13. |: The fat little Prussian he grew and grew,
Parlez-vous :|
The fat little Prussian he grew and grew,
He fucked the cat and the donkey too,
Chorus:

14. |: The fat little Prussian he went to hell,
Parlez-vous :|
The fat little Prussian he went to hell,
He fucked the devil and his wife as well,
Chorus:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unclear as to when this song was written, but many sources credit it to the British Army of India under the name "Skiboo". The WWI lyrics were probably written at Armentieres in 1915, which served as a R&R (rest and recreation) area for units coming out of the trench line.

not to be taken serously, remember this was written during the first world war 1915.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Genie (Wha hoppen ma cookie?)
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 12:16 AM

OT, but in response to this post from Bill in Alabama:
Date: 25 Jul 97 - 07:57 AM

"Indeed, this was, along with 'Smile, smile, smile' and 'Lili Marlene', one of the best-known songs of WWI."

"Lili Marlene" ("Lili Marleen") was a popular song in WW II, not WWI. It was based on a poem written by a soldier in WWI. (See the Lili Marlene/Lili Marleen threads for its history.)

The actual title to the song with the refrain "Smile, smile, smile" is "Pack Up Your Troubles (In Your Old Kit Bag"0.

---

Thanks for all the verses to "Mademoisell From Armentieres" that I did not know.

I only knew 2 or 3 (including the "... hasn't been kissed in 40 years," except that the doughboys rarely sang "kissed" ;-D ) so I made up this one:

Mademoiselle from Armentieres, ... etc.
I went to war to see Paree
But I'm stuck here in the infantry.
Hinky-dinky parlez-vous.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Kelvin Philpott, Yate Bristol
Date: 03 Jan 07 - 04:18 PM

The second of Tom Hamilton's versions had a verse 12 variation that went:-

Nine months later her belly went pop,
Out came a Chav with a cast iron cock.

At that time (late 40's) chav was a common expression for a man that seems to have now come back to fashion but now has a degrogatory connotation that it did not have then.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Lighter
Date: 03 Jan 07 - 05:37 PM

Guest Kelvin, were the other verses the same as Tom Hamilton's ?
The variant you give is unusual. And why "Chav" ? Is that short for something else ?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Tom Hamilton frae Saltcoats Scotland
Date: 04 Jan 07 - 12:17 PM

these are to words that the soldiers sang during the first world war and we were at war with Germany, sorry German Mudcatters

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Tom Hamilton frae Saltcoats Scotland
Date: 04 Jan 07 - 12:18 PM

a CHAV is a young man or woman who is a bit of a arsehole.
we in Scotland call them NEDS and in England they are known as CHAVS

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,von
Date: 06 Jan 07 - 08:47 PM

my dad sang it to me when i was little
the cheese went rolling down the street
knocked a copper right off his feet

the copper got up and blew his whistle
the cheese went rolling on to bristle
lol that all i can remember but let me know if you know this version id like to know the rest of it ha ha

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Jan 07 - 09:07 PM

You might not think this is related, but take a look at the Sadie Damascus version of "Two Sisters" - it's a veritable masterpiece...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: The Walrus
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 05:10 AM

Lighter posted on 03 Jan 07 - 05:37 PM

"...And why "Chav" ? Is that short for something else ?..."

If I recall, 'Chav' is a slang term (from the Romany, I believe), for a child.

I've no idea why it suddenly reapeared as a term for those pillocks in assorted cheap bling and knock-off Burberry designs.

W

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Mart
Date: 30 Jan 07 - 04:31 PM

Dunno if this thread is still alive, but there was a version we used to sing in Primary School on the bus on the way to the Swimming Pool I stumbled across this site in searching for the gaps in the version I knew (my daughter thinks this is funny and keeps asking me to finish it);

There was an old lady of 72, Parlez Vous
There was an old lady of 72, Parlez Vous
There was an old lady of 72, Parlez Vous
Who did a fart and away it blew
Inky pinky parlez vous

The fart went rolling down the street, Parlez Vous
The fart went rolling down the street, Parlez Vous
The fart went rolling down the street, Parlez Vous
And knocked a copper off his feet
Inky pink parlez vous

The copper got out his rusty whistle, Parlez Vous
The copper got out his rusty whistle, Parlez Vous
The copper got out his rusty whistle, Parlez Vous
And blew the fart from here to Bristol
Inky pinky parlez vous

(it's here that my memory fades...)
Bristol Rovers playing at home, Parlez Vous
Bristol Rovers playing at home, Parlez Vous
Bristol Rovers playing at home, Parlez Vous
(Some Bristol Rovers player) kicked the fart from here to Rome
Inky pinky palez vous

Julius Caesar (something, something), Parlez Vous
Julius Caesar (something, something), Parlez Vous
Julius Caesar (something, something), Parlez Vous
(de dum de dum de dum de doo)
Inky pinky parlez vous

If anyone can fill in the blanks...that'd be great ;-)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Lisa
Date: 12 Apr 07 - 10:41 AM

Those are the full lyrics to the song you just wrote out. So you can now finish it for your daughter. I used to find in highly amusing when I was a child. =]

There was an old woman of 92 parlez vous.
There was an old woman of 92 parlez vous.
There was an old woman of 92,
Did a fart and off it flew,
Inky pinky parlez vous.

The fart went rolling down the street parlez vous.
The fart went rolling down the street parlez vous.
The fart went rolling down the street,
Knocked the copper of his feet,
Inky pinky parlez vous.

The copper got out his rusty pistol parlez vous.
The copper got out his rusty pistol parlez vous.
The copper got out his rusty pistol,
Shit the fart from here to Bristol,
Inky pinky parlez vous.

Bristol Rovers playing at home parlez vous.
Bristol Rovers playing at home parlez vous.
Bristol Rovers playing at home,
Kicked the fart from here to Rome,
Inky pinky parlez vous.

Julius Caeser drinking gin parlez vous.
Julius Caeser drinking gin parlez vous.
Julius ceaser drinking gin,
Opend his mouth and the fart flew in,
Inky pinky parlez vous.

The fart went rolling down his spine parlez vous.
The fart went rolling down his spine parlez vous.
The fart went rolling down his spine,
Knocked his bollocks* out of line,
Inky pinky parlez vous.

The fart went shooting off to Mars parlez vous.
The fart went shooting off to Mars parlez vous.
The fart went shooting off to Mars,
Knocked the Martian on his arse,
Inky pinky parlez vous.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Fred
Date: 13 May 07 - 06:04 AM

The song Mademoiselle from Armentieres, as known in WW1 was penned by Cecil H Winter in 1915 / 16, during his time in England and France fighting with the kiwis. He was Australian having been raised in the 'Riverina' region of NSW. He was to take Riverina for his writings of Australian Bush poetry culminating in the writing of a book of such poetry ("The Story of Bidgee Queen & Other Verses",Century Books. 1929). From a young age he wrote for the Australian Bulletin Magazine. He migrated to New Zealand prior to WW1, living in Bluff, Southland.
I have a copy of his original writings of this song. He was my grandfather.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 13 May 07 - 01:39 PM

Guest Fred, this is significant information, not least because there are several versions claimed to be the original. Can you post your grandfather's lyrics and any copyright info including date and place?

Do you know what unit your grandfather was serving in when he wrote the song?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 15 May 07 - 12:51 AM

Here's the catalog entry from The National Library of Australia:

Record ID: 1612472
Author: Winter, C. H.
Title: The story of 'Bidgee Queen and other verses / by C.H. Winter ("Riverina") ; with an introduction by O. N. Gillespie, cover design and frontpiece by Ken Alexander.
Publisher: Sydney : New Century Press, 1929.
Description: 181 p. : ill. ; 19 cm.
Notes: Most of the verses appeared originally in the Bulletin, Aussie, Smith's Weekly, Sydney Mail, Worker (N.S.W.), Southland Times, N.Z. Artists Annual, and the Highway (N.Z.).

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Fred
Date: 16 May 07 - 07:25 AM

Lighter,

I will source some additional info on Cecil H Winter for you. My mum has two of his journals made up of years of writings. This weekend I will figure out how to post the copy of the song for you.
Other bits about my grandfather:
Articles in my possession talk of him being friends with Breaker Morant who also wrote for the Bulletin around 1998 on until his death. One article tells of his visit to the offices of the Sydney Bulletin in 1949 and after making himself known, was surrounded by staff and treated as a brother.
Another interesting thing is one article talks of his early life around Deniliquin, being first brought up on a station about 50 km from the meeting of the Billabong and Edwards Rivers in the Riverina. HThe article states that as a younger man his father William met up with Burke and Wills on the Victorian border as they rode north (article: Southland Daily News (NZ),Sat Dec 15 1951 (p11).
In terms of the song, there are several who claimed authorship at some time or other. This is disputed in an article as well that I have, stating that the claims of one ECH Rowlands (UK) and Lt Gritz-Rice are flase and that CH Winter was the author.
Grandad Winter gave or sold the rights to the song to one Pat Hanna of the Diggers Vaudeville show that toured Austraila after WW1.
I have no knowledge beyond that.
What I do have though, is a copy of his song (the music itself is far older). On it it clearly shows a verse, which is crossed out and presumably he deleted. It was verse two and started "Mademoiselle enjoyed the noise, parlez vous"
In another, be crosses out the words "You'll" and hand writes "Go"
I cannot date these changes.
Another well known poen he wrote is Maloneys Cockatoo.

I hope that helps those interested. I am happy to converse with anyone who is interested. If you write to me, use my dodgy Yahoo addy initially ([e-mail])

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Fred
Date: 16 May 07 - 07:35 AM

Sorry, you will have to excuse my typos. In fact in regard to Breaker Morant it was of course 1898.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mademoiselle from Armentières
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 17 May 07 - 09:58 AM

Guest Fred, thanks ! I look forward to seeing Cecil's song.

You can listen to a post-war recording of the version copyrighted by Carlton and Tunbridge here:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/mademoisellefromarmentieres.htm

The site dates the recording to "1915," but those lyrics were not published till 1918-19.