Way OT: "Mademoiselle from Armentieres"

wh5mith wh5mith at BELLSOUTH.NET
Sat Aug 2 21:01:40 UTC 2014


The first Marine went over the top, parlez-vous.
The second Marine went over the top, parlez-vous.
The third Marine went over the top,
He thought he heard a nickle drop,
Hinkey, dinkey, parlez-vous.

She still wasn't kissed.

Bill Smith

 
A brilliant casuist disproved every false generalization.  He is justly known lately.  Moreover, no pompous quibbler really said that useful verities were xenophobic yet zealous.


On Saturday, August 2, 2014 9:01 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
 


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Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Way OT: "Mademoiselle from Armentieres"
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Am finishing a pedantic study of this once-famous WW1 song, which I
mentioned here many years ago.

I was surprised recently when a somewhat younger colleague admitted to
having heard the name at one point but knew nothing whatever beyond that.
Nothing.

OK, silly question: does the song or the name have any particular
associations for members of this distinguished forum? (Beyond the fact that
the Mlle. hadn't been kissed in 40 years.)

The popular image is/was that, being French, she was some kind of sex
kitten.  Yet the only verse most people know suggests the opposite.

I'm interested in the Mademoiselle as Rohrschach test. The song was a big
deal 100 years ago and was frequently commented on in the postwar press.
Has it any resonance left?  Does anyone here know more than the best-known
stanza? (There once were many.)

If the subject is too far afield for the list, email me.

JL

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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