Mademoiselle from Armentières

"Mademoiselle from Armentières" is an English song that was particularly popular during World War I. It is also known by its ersatz French hook line, 'Inky Pinky Parlez Vous,' or the American variant 'Hinky Dinky Parlez-vous' (variant: Parlay voo). 'Inky Pinky' was a Scottish children's name for parsnip and potato cakes, but it has been suggested that an onomatopoeic reference to the sound of bed springs is more likely a soldier's ribald derivation.

Origins

"Mademoiselle from Armentières" has roots in a tradition of older popular songs; its immediate predecessor seems to be the song "Skiboo" (or "Snapoo"), which was also popular among British soldiers of World War 1.[1] Earlier still, the tune of the song is thought to have been popular in the French Army in the 1830s; at this time the words told of the encounter of an inn-keeper's daughter, named Mademoiselle de Bar le Duc, with two German officers. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the tune was resurrected, and again in 1914 when the British and Allied soldiers got to know it.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of December 4, 1939, reported that the historical inspiration for the song had been a young Frenchwoman named Marie Lecoq (later Marie Marceau), who worked as a waitress at the Café de la Paix in Armentières at the time of the war. Despite the obscenity of many popular versions of the song, it was reportedly quite clean in its original form.[2]

The song's first known recording was made in 1915 by music hall baritone Jack Charman.[3]

Use
A 1944 colour photograph of a woman standing on a Canadian Army jeep, by the town sign at Armentières

"Mademoiselle from Armentières" was considered a risqué song and not for 'polite company', and when sung on the radio and TV, as in The Waltons, typically only the first verse was sung. The lyrics on which this opinion is based are recorded in the Gordon "Inferno" Collection.

It is also the third part (the first two being "Has Anyone Seen the Colonel?" and "It's a Long Way to Tipperary") of the regimental march of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Mademoiselle from Armentières was also the name of a 1926 British film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Estelle Brody.

During World War II the comic duo Flanagan and Allen had a hit with "If a Grey Haired Lady Says 'How's Your Father?' (That's Mademoiselle from Armentieres)", written by Ted Waite, which refers to the original song.[4]

When Lindisfarne played their song "We Can Swing Together" on stage in the early 1970s, it developed into a lengthy harmonica medley which included a verse and chorus from this as well as several other songs, some also traditional.

"Three German Officers Crossed the Rhine" is a song with much more ribald set of lyrics, popular on rugby tours but sung to the same tune or to that of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". It was originally sung in the allied trenches during the First World War.[5]

A reworked version known as the “fart song” or as “an old lady of 92” was popular in schools, particularly in the UK, with lyrics celebrating a flatulent journey including Bristol and Rome.[6]

A reworked version of the melody was used in the Israeli songwriter Haim Hefer's song "בחולות" ("Bacholot" or "Bakholot", "In the Sands"), best known for its performance by the singer Yossi Banai. The song consist of six stanzas telling of a tendency among the narrator's family males to take out the beloveds into (and conceive their children in) the titular sands.[7][8]

Mademoiselle From Armentieres was the title of a 1927 espionage, thriller novel by Cecil Street, writing under the name John Rhode.[9]

Lyrics

Multiple versions of the song exist. One variation goes as follows:[10]

Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
She hasn't been kissed in forty years,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.

Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She had the form like the back of a hack,
When she cried the tears ran down her back,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.

Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She never could hold the love of man
'Cause she took her baths in a talcum can,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.

Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She had four chins, her knees would knock,
And her face would stop a cuckoo clock,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.

Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She could beg a franc, a drink, a meal,
But it wasn't because of sex appeal,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.

Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She could guzzle a barrel of sour wine,
And eat a hog without peeling the rind,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.

The MPS think they won the war, Parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war, Parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war,
Standing guard at the café door,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.

The officers get the pie and cake, Parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake, Parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake,
And all we get is the bellyache,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.

The sergeant ought to take a bath, Parley-voo.
The sergeant ought to take a bath, Parley-voo.
If he changes his underwear
The frogs will give him the Croix-de-Guerre,
Hinky-dinky, parley-voo.

You might forget the gas and shells, Parley-voo.
You might forget the gas and shells, Parley-voo.
You might forget the groans and yells
But you'll never forget the mademoiselles,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.

Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Just blow your nose, and dry your tears,
We'll all be back in a few short years,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.

Lyricists

There are several claims to having written the lyrics for this song:

  • Edward Rowland and a Canadian composer, Gitz Rice
  • Harry Carlton and Joe Tunbridge
  • British songwriter Harry Wincott
  • Alfred Charles Montin supposedly wrote "Mademoiselle from Armentières" while stationed in France and composed the music for "The Caissons Go Rolling Along" at Fort Sheridan, Ill., shortly before his unit was transferred to Fort Sill. The lyrics for the artillery march were written by Brig. Gen. Edmund L. Gruber, when he was a second lieutenant. Montin was born and raised in Nice, France. He migrated to the United States and started a tour of duty as an army band director in the days when the band was an important regimental organization. Also included in his music career was a tour with the famed John Philip Sousa Band.”[11][12]

References
  1. Laffin, John (2016-07-11). Tommy Atkins: The Story of the English Soldier. ISBN 9780752466941.
  2. "What about that song? – Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo?". Archived from the original on 2018-12-29. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
  3. "First World War.com - Vintage Audio - Mademoiselle from Armentieres". Firstworldwar.com. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  4. "If a Grey Haired Lady Says "How's Your Father?" (That's Mademoiselle from Armentieres) by Flanagan and Allen". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  5. "The First World War Poetry Digital Archive – Three German Officers crossed the Rhine". Oucs.ox.ac.uk.
  6. "Inky Pinky Parlez Vous". Thumped.com. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  7. Bacholot - בחולות Yossi Banai - יוסי בנאי
  8. "Haim Hefer". Discogs. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  9. Onions, John (1990). English Fiction and Drama of the Great War, 1918-39. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-349-20622-3. OCLC 1004385905.
  10. Duffy, Michael. "Vintage Audio - Mademoiselle from Armentieres". firstworldwar.com. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  11. "In Years Past - post-journal.com - News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Jamestown - Post-Journal". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  12. "Eureka Humboldt Standard from Eureka, California · Page 7". Newspapers.com.
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