959. Mademoiselle From Armentieres (Traditional)

One of the favourites of the soldiers in the first world war, this is one of those songs that everyone adds verses to, with varying degrees of suitability for family listening.

The melody itself was believed to be popular in the French army in the 1830s, but little is known about the origins of the song itself. The earliest known version tells the story of an inn-keeper's daughter, Mademoiselle de Bar le Luc, who meets up with two German officers. The tune regained its popularity during the Franco-Prussia war of 1870, and again in 1914.

One story is that Gits Rice, a Nova Scotian sergeant in the Canadian Army sat down in a little cafe in the small town of Armentieres, near Lille, in 1915 and, inspired by the barmaid serving drinks, wrote the words and performed it a few days later for the 5th Montreal battalion, which was stationed in France. The song has also been attributed to Harry Carlton and Joe Tunbridge, and also to Cecil H Winter, an Australian bush poet serving with the ANZACS in England and France in 1915-16. Of course it's possible that all these writers were responsible for different variations of the song.

Lyrics and chords:
..... G .................................................. D7
A mademoiselle from Armentieres, parlay-voo?
............................................................. G
A mademoiselle from Armentieres, parlay-voo?
.................................... D7
A mademoiselle from Armentieres,
........ G ................................... D7
She hasn't been (kissed) for forty years,
................................ G
Hinky-dinky-parlay-voo.

Our top-kick there in Armentieres…
Soon broke the spell of forty years.

She might have been young for all we knew ...
When Napoleon flopped at Waterloo.

She never could hold the love of a man ...
For she took her bath in a talcum can.

The doughboy he had beaucoup jack ...
Till Mademoiselle got on his track.

You didn't have to know her long,
To know the reason men go wrong!

She's the hardest working girl in town,
But she makes her living upside down!

She'll do it for wine, she'll do it for rum,
And sometimes for chocolate or chewing gum!

The mademoiselle was dressed in blue, ...
The souvenir came in blue too.

With her I flirted, I confess ...
But she got revenge when she said yes.

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

She had four chins, her knees would knock,
And her face would stop a cuckoo clock,

She could guzzle a barrel of sour wine,
And eat a hog without peeling the rind,

O Mademoiselle from gay Paree,
You certainly did play hell with me.

My Froggie girl was true to me …
She was true to me, she was true to you
She was true to the whole damned army too.

You might forget the gas and shells, ...
But you'll never forget these mademoiselles.

I didn't care what became of me, ...
So I went and joined the Infantry.

Oh, the seventy-seventh went over the top,
A sous lieutenant, a Jew and a Wop.

The Yanks are having a hell of a time, ...
Wading around in the mud and slime.

The little marine fell in love with his nurse,
He's taken her now for better or worse.

The medical corps they hold the line ...
With C.C. pills and iodine.

The first (second) marine went over the top
The third marine, he stayed behind
(Loved) the ladies and drank the wine.

The officers get all the steak, ...
And all we get is a belly-ache.

The tin-hat, he ain't totin' a pack…
We hope to Christ he breaks his back.

The MPS think they won the war…
Standing guard at the café door.

The Cavalry think they did it all…
Shooting craps in an empty stall.

And all they did in the Signal corps…
Was play blackjack on the office floor.

The General got the croix-de-guerre, ...
The son of a bitch wasn’t even there.

Twas a hell of a war as we recall,
But still, 'twas better than none at all.

They said they mechanized the war…
So what the hell are we marching for?

The WACS and the WAVES are winning the war
So what the hell are we fighting for?

You might forget the gas and shells,
You might forget the groans and yells
But you'll never forget the mademoiselles,

There's many and many a married man,
Wants to go back to France again.

Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Just blow your nose, and dry your tears,
We'll all be back in a few short years.

You can watch a playlist of my bawdy songs here: https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=PLCi_Xcl2_fAWBNTWkQLP4k_E2g7QFREIH

Lyrics and chords of many of my songs are no longer available, as my website has expired. I am currently posting lyrics to the information panels on all my videos and those that are too long to post in full will be found here: https://raymondsfolkpage.wordpress.com

Видео 959. Mademoiselle From Armentieres (Traditional) канала raymondcrooke