What's the real name of that "There's a Place in France . . ." song?

Cafe Society
1

I recently went on a classic animation binge, watching a collection of old Mickey Mouse cartoons, followed by a bunch of Felix shorts. One thing that struck me as odd was how all the cartoons from the '20s and '30s seem to use the same songs over and over, particularly “Turkey in the Straw” and this . . . other song. The song in question sounds vaguely Middle Eastern, and in the cartoons it usually accompanies something exotic or foreign-seeming, like a snake charmer or a turban-clad man riding an elephant. Everyone’s probably heard this tune, and when I was a kid (early '80s), we even had lyrics for it: "There’s a place in France where the naked ladies dance; there’s a hole in the wall where the men can see it all; but the men don’t care, 'cause they choose their underwear . . . . "

So, what is the real title of this song? Who wrote it? Why was it used so extensively in old cartoons? And how long have kids had their own lyrics for the song?

Brian
Shreveport, LA

2

Here is the tune as a MIDI file.

3

Okay, I answered my own question. (Searched the archives here, which I should’ve done first). This site discusses the tune (written by Sol Bloom, but stolen and used by numerous performers at the turn of the century).

I am still curious about the schoolyard lyrics, though. Anyone know anything about variations/earliest recorded version?

Brian

4

Not so fast:

5

The version I heard as a kid:

There’s a place in France
where the ladies where no pants

(then it continues about underwear, but I think different from the OP’s version. Can’t remember it, sorry.)

6

1950’s, southern Ontario version

There’s a place called France
Where the ladies wear no pants
And the men wear glasses
To see their dirty asses

7

I remember:

“There’s a place on Mars,
Where the women smoke cigars”

8

“There’s a place in France
Where the ladies were no pants
And the men go 'round
With their hammers hanging down.”

Burnaby (Vancouver) BC, c1970.

9

Rat’s!
I don’t know what kind of ladies they WERE, but they didn’t WEAR pants!

(Preview, zoogirl, PREVIEW!)

10

There’s a place in France
Where the naked ladies dance
But the men don’t care
Cause they don’t wear underwear

Circa 1975, central Minnesota.

I’d like to get my hands on a copy of that Kradoutja.

11

There’s a place in France
Where the naked ladies dance.
There’s a hole in the wall
Where the boys can see it all.

Was what I heard in St. Louis in the early 70s

12

There’s a place in France
Where the alligators dance
The one couldn’t dance
So they kicked him in the pants
The pants next door
Cost a dollar forty four
Plus tax.

13

There’s a board we know
Where the happy Dopers go
Unca Cecil rants,
“Gotta stomp out ignorance!”

takes a bow

:smiley:

14

I knew a slightly different version:
In the land of Oz
Where the ladies where no bras
But the men don’t care
'cuz they wear no underwear

15

The version we sang where I live (central NJ, late 70s) goes:
there’s a place in France
where the naked ladies dance
There’s a hole in the wall
Where the men can see it all

16

Hmmm,
of all the lost childhood memories, I still remember:

They don’t wear pants
in the southern part of France,
But they do wear grass
to cover up their ass.

17

Similar to racer72’s, Mid-Atlantic area, c 1970

There’s a place in France
Where the alligators dance
One wouldn’t dance
So they shot him in the pants
The pants he wore
Cost a dollar ninety-four
Plus tax.

Also,

There’s a place on Mars
Where the ladies smoke cigars.
Every puff they take
Is enough to kill a snake.
When the snakes are dead
They put diamonds in their head.
When the diamonds crack,
They put mustard on their back.
When the mustard dries,
They put rubies in their eyes…

I don’t understand their motivation, of course. I merely report.

18

All I remember is the first two lines:

Oh, they don’t wear pants
On the sunny side of France.

19

Here is the version heard in the early 70s as a kid.

There’s a place in France where the alligators dance
and the dance they do was written by a jew.
but the jew couldn’t dance so they kicked him in the pants
and the pants he wore cost a dollar ninety four plus tax.

20

We know of a location to the north of the Iberian Peninsula where skyclad ecdyists ply their trade. Through an aperture in the boundary the males are able to observe their actions. However due to their own lack of undergarments they have no interest in doing so,