For some reason this song came to mind recently
Speaking of France... Here's a prohibition era song from the late 1920s, as I transcribed it off an old record by Sophie Tucker. In the Marx Brothers movie "Animal Crackers", Groucho at one point asks "How many Frenchmen can't be wrong?" If you didn't know the answer, this song explains it.
FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN CAN'T BE WRONG
by Rose, Raskin, & Fisher
They say the French are naughty
They say the French are bad
They all declare that over there, the French are going mad.
They have a reputation of being very gay
I just got back from Paris, and I just want to say:
When they go parley-vee and parley-vou,
This for me, zat for you,
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
When they go Ohh la la la la la la la
On the bully boulevard
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
They shake-a the hand
They shake-a the feet
They roll ze eyes and kiss cafe right on the street
Even though the Irish and the Dutch
Say it don't amount to much
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
All of our fashions come from gay Par-ee
And if they come above the knee
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
And if they give the world a new design
To prove a lady has a spine
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
They shorten them here,
They shorten them there,
And if her name is Teddy, they make Teddy bare.
If they prefer to see their women dressed
With more or less of less and less,
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
When they put on a show, and it's a hit
No one tries to censor it
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
And when a book is selling at it's best
It isn't stopped; it's not suppressed.
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
Whenever they're dry
For brandy or rye,
To get it, they don't gave to give up their right eye.
And when we brag about our liberty
And they laugh at you and you and you and me
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
In Viva la France
They're full of romance
You'll find policemen with embroidery on their pants.
And when they start to sing the Marseillaise
They sing it forty different ways
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN CAN'T BE WRONG
by Rose, Raskin, & Fisher
They say the French are naughty
They say the French are bad
They all declare that over there, the French are going mad.
They have a reputation of being very gay
I just got back from Paris, and I just want to say:
When they go parley-vee and parley-vou,
This for me, zat for you,
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
When they go Ohh la la la la la la la
On the bully boulevard
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
They shake-a the hand
They shake-a the feet
They roll ze eyes and kiss cafe right on the street
Even though the Irish and the Dutch
Say it don't amount to much
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
All of our fashions come from gay Par-ee
And if they come above the knee
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
And if they give the world a new design
To prove a lady has a spine
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
They shorten them here,
They shorten them there,
And if her name is Teddy, they make Teddy bare.
If they prefer to see their women dressed
With more or less of less and less,
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
When they put on a show, and it's a hit
No one tries to censor it
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
And when a book is selling at it's best
It isn't stopped; it's not suppressed.
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
Whenever they're dry
For brandy or rye,
To get it, they don't gave to give up their right eye.
And when we brag about our liberty
And they laugh at you and you and you and me
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.
In Viva la France
They're full of romance
You'll find policemen with embroidery on their pants.
And when they start to sing the Marseillaise
They sing it forty different ways
Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong.