# What's the real name of that "There's a Place in France . . ." song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 16, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487 "2003-02-16T19:46:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/21 "2022-01-24T11:05:50Z")
SNL just hasn’t been the same ever since A Hole In the Wall Where the Men Can See It All left the cast. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/UaHKS_Nyc2s/maxresdefault.jpg "It's Saturday Night Liveeeee!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaHKS_Nyc2s) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/22 "2022-01-24T15:24:19Z")
> [@december](#): > > All I remember is the first two lines: > > _Oh, they don’t wear pants > On the sunny side of France._ That’s what I remember. Cleveland, '50s. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/23 "2022-01-24T18:54:03Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > 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. Mine was slightly different: _There’s a place in France Where the alligators dance And the dance they do Was written by Magoo But Magoo couldn’t dance So they kicked him in the pants And the pants he wore Cost a dollar forty four Plus tax._ ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/24 "2022-01-26T03:16:38Z")
Ours was: _On the land of Mars_ _Where the lady smokes cigars_ _Every puff she makes_ _Is enough to kill a snake_ _When the snake has died_ _They put diamonds in its eyes_ _When the diamonds shine_ _It is 1999_ ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/25 "2022-01-26T09:40:56Z")
It was in Baghdad Where me mammy met me dad Singin’ ‘Nellie, put your belly’ (Singin’ ‘Nellie, put your belly’) It was in Baghdad Where me mammy met me dad Singin’ ‘Nellie, put your belly Next to mine’ ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/26 "2022-01-28T03:27:45Z")
In Maine in the 50s, it was nearly that, but “on the _other_ side of France”. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/27 "2022-01-28T20:07:41Z")
> [@smithsonian](#): > > ["There's a Place in France" aka "Streets of Cairo" - That "Snake Charmer" Song](http://www.shira.net/streets-of-cairo.htm) I don’t really have anything to add to the discussion of the tune, but I just want to say I’m amazed that this 19 year old link still works. And it still looks like a website from ~20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/28 "2022-01-28T20:25:24Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > > [@smithsonian](#): > > > > ["There's a Place in France" aka "Streets of Cairo" - That "Snake Charmer" Song](http://www.shira.net/streets-of-cairo.htm) > > I don’t really have anything to add to the discussion of the tune, but I just want to say I’m amazed that this 19 year old link still works. And it still looks like a website from ~20 years ago. And yet it’s still not all that old. This message is on the [front page](http://www.shira.net/): > As of fall 2020: Shira’s belly dance classes are currently taking a break because of covid-19. ---
**Author:** ![Timdh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@Timdh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timdh)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/29 "2024-03-09T16:47:22Z")
I was singing this song to my wife this morning and decided to look it up and can’t believe there is a thread this many years old about the song. Houston, Texas in the 70’s “There’s a land called France where the ladies wear no pants and there’s a hole in the wall where the men can see it all” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2024, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/30 "2024-03-09T19:33:07Z")
I went over all the posts in this zombie, sure I would find my own contribution. Could have sworn I had shared: All the girls in France do the hula hula dance And the way they shake is enough to kill a snake When the snake is dead they put diamonds in his head When the diamonds break they go kill another snake 1948 8 8 Don’t know why French girls would be dancing the hula. Should have fit can-can in there somehow. Also don’t know the reason for the date in the last line. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2024, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/31 "2024-03-09T21:02:53Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > Don’t know why French girls would be dancing the hula. I’m more curious about the purpose for depositing diamonds in dead snakes, and what they were doing that breaks diamonds. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2024, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487/32 "2024-03-09T21:38:03Z")
[Here](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_riff#:~:text=%22Arabian%20riff%22%2C%20also%20known,The%20Southern%20Part%20of%20France%22)is a Wiki page on the subject. (This came up on r/NameThatSong recently !) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-real-name-of-that-theres-a-place-in-france-song/155487.md?page=1)