Arabian riff
The Streets of Cairo, or the Poor Little Country Maid is a well-known melody in the United States. Alternate titles for children's songs using this melody include "The Girls in France" and "The Southern Part of France".[citation needed]
History
Purportedly the original version of the song was written by Sol Bloom, a showman (and later, a U.S. Congressman) who was the entertainment director of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. It included an attraction called "A Street in Cairo" produced by Gaston Akoun, which featured snake charmers, camel rides, and a scandalous dancer known as Little Egypt. Songwriter James Thornton penned the words and music to his own version of this melody, "Streets Of Cairo or The Poor Little Country Maid". Copyrighted in 1895, it was made popular by his wife Lizzie Cox, who used the stage name Bonnie Thornton.[1] The oldest known recording of the song is from 1895, performed by Dan Quinn (Berliner Discs 171-Z).[2]
The first five notes of the song are similar to the beginning of a French song named "Colin Prend Sa Hotte" (1719), which in turn resembles note for note an Algerian or Arabic song titled "Kradoutja".[3] The song appears frequently in cartoons when something that is connected with deserts, Arabia, Egypt, belly dancing, or snake charming is being displayed.[citation needed]
The song was also recorded as "They Don't Wear Pants in the Southern Part of France" by John Bartles, the version sometimes played by radio host Dr. Demento.
Lyrics
As with many songs often sung by children, there are wide variations to the common lyrics.[citation needed]
Variant #1
- Oh the girls in France
- Wear their whiskers in their pants
- And the things they do
- Would kill a Russian Jew
- And the clothes they wear
- Would freeze a polar bear.
- Do what your mama says
- And do what your papa says
- But don't split your pants
- Doing the Hootchy Kootchy Dance
Variant #2
- Oh the girls in France did the hokey cokey dance
- Singing Annie put your fanny close to mine:
- Oh the girls in Spain did the very, very same
- Singing Nellie put your belly close to mine.
Variant #3
- There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance.
- With their long blond hair and the boobies in the air.
- There's a hole in the wall where the men can see it all.
- The way they shake is enough to kill a snake.
Variant #4 (Common in Britain)
- There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance.
- and the men play drums
- on the naked ladies' bums !!
- There are alternate endings of the final verse, including:
- * But the men don't care 'cause they're in their underwear
- * But the men don't care 'cause they like to see them bare
- * But the men don't care 'cause they chew their underwear
- * But the men don't care 'cause they smoke their underwear
Variant #5 (Common In United States)
- 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.
- But the cops don't care 'cause they're in their underwear.
Variant #6 (Glaswegian version)
- Does yer maw drink wine, does she drink it aw the time?
- Does yer da drink gin, does he drink it oot a tin?
- Does she git a funny feelin' when her heed's hit the cielin
Variant #7 (Common in Canada)
- In the Land of Oz, where the ladies wear no bras,
- But the men don't care, 'cos they wear no underwear.
- And the kids don't mind, 'cos they leave their clothes behind.
Variant #8 (Also common in Canada)
- In the Land of Oz, where the women wear no bras,
- And the men play drums on the naked ladies bums,
- Along came a genie with an artificial weenie.
Variant #9 (Also Common in Canada)
- In the Land of France where the ladies wear no pants
- And the men wear glasses to see their asses.
Variant #10
- There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance
- And the dance they do was created by Magoo.
- But Magoo couldn't dance so they kicked him in the pants
- And the pants he wore cost a dollar forty-four.
Variant #11
- There's a place on Mars where women smoke cigars
- And men wear bikinis and children drink martinis
- Every breath you take is enough to kill a snake
- When the snake is dead you put roses in his head
- When the roses die you put diamonds in his eys
- When the diamonds crack you pour mustard on his back
Variant #12
- There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance
- There's a hole in the wall where you can see it all
- There's a snake in the grass with a booger up his ass
- There's a King and a Queen with a diamond ding-a-ling
Variant #13
- There's a place in France where the sexy men dance
- And they go so far you'd think you're in a bar
- So I suggest that you go smoke on your cigar
Variant #14
- There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance
- And the men wear bikinis
- And the children drink martinis
Travadja La Moukère
In France there is a popular song that immigrants from Algeria brought back in the 1960s called "Travadja La Moukère", which uses the same exact Hoochy Coochy tune. Its original tune, said to have been based on an original Arab song, was created around 1850 and subsequently adopted by the Foreign Legion.[citation needed]
Partial lyrics :
- Travadja La Moukère
- Travadja Bono
- Trempe ton cul dans la soupière
- Si c'est chaud c'est que ça brûle
- Si ça brûle c'est que c'est chaud !
"Shir Hasrisim"
In Israel, a popular song for the festival of Purim is "Shir Hasrisim" ("Song of the Ignorants"), written by Natan Alterman. The song pokes fun at the story of Esther, by using silly, almost childlike descriptions of the villains of the Purim story (Ahasuerus is a Baby, Haman is a drunkard). The tune used is most likely a folk tune among the local Arab population.[4]
The use of melody in popular music
Since the piece is not copyrighted, it has been used as a basis for several songs, especially in the early 20th century:[citation needed]
- "Hoolah! Hoolah!"
- "Dance of the Midway"
- "Coochi-Coochi Polka"
- "Danse Du Ventre"
- "Kutchi Kutchi"
Later popular songs that include all or part of the melody include:[1]
- "Lækker pt. 2 feat. L.O.C." Nik & Jay
- "Take It Off" by Ke$ha
- "Criminal" Fiona Apple
- "Speak Chinese" by Jin
- "Harem Nights" (also known as "In the Harem") by Irving Berlin
- The "Little Egypt" segment of the World's Columbian Exposition scene in Show Boat
- "Little Egypt" by Oasis
- "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by The Four Lads and by They Might Be Giants
- "Over There" by Jonathan Coulton
- "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial" by Pam Tillis
- "Dance of the Snake Charmer" by Carl Stevens and His Circus Band
- "Twilight in Turkey by the Raymond Scott Quintette
- "Playboy" by Red Wanting Blue
- "Revolution 9" by The Beatles
- "The Sheik of Araby" performed by The Beatles during their 1962 Decca audition, with George Harrison as the lead singer and Pete Best on the drums. (This track can be found on Anthology 1.)
- "Hoolah Hoolah" by Can
- "Whiney, Whiney (What Really Drives Me Crazy)" by Willi One Blood
- "Naggin" by Ying Yang Twins
- "You Scared the Lovin' Outta Me" by Funkadelic.
- "Rip Rock" by Canibus
- "Killer” (杀手) by Lin Junjie
- "Funky Mule" by Ike and Tina Turner
- "King Tut" by Steve Martin
- "Lies," by Thompson Twins, immediately after the line, "Cleopatra died for Egypt. What a waste of time!"
- "Cleopatra's Cat" by the Spin Doctors.
- "Viva la Gloria (Little Girl)" by Green Day
- "Toc Toc Toc" by Lee Hyori (이효리)
- "Starchild" by Teena Marie
- "Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si" from the motion picture Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958)
- "Hokus Pokus" by the Insane Clown Posse
- "Entertainment" by Rise Against
- "Open Sesame" by Kool & The Gang
- "The Grand Wazoo" by Frank Zappa
- "Place in France" by L.A.P.D. (an early band for 3 of the original members of Korn)
Appearances in cartoons
- Mickey Mouse: The Karnival Kid (1929)
- Circus Capers (1930)
- Goofy Goat Antics (1933)
- Mickey Mouse: Clock Cleaners (1937)
- Goofy Groceries (1938)
- Porky Pig: Ali-Baba Bound (1940)
- Mighty Mouse: Aladdin's Lamp (1947)
- Woody Woodpecker: Witch Crafty (1955)
- Vincent (1982)
Appearances in computer games
From cartoons the song has been adapted to video games. It appears on following computer and videogames:
- Bombo (1986)
- Lemmings 2 (1993, Egyptian tribe)
- The Lost Vikings (1992, Level 3 - Egypt)
- Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 (1991, desert level)
- Oh Mummy (1984)
- Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire (1990, Katta's Tail Inn)
- Rampage Through Time (2000, Egyptian timezone)
- Rick Dangerous (1989, Level 2 - Egypt)
- Zool 2 (1994, Tooting common level 3)
Appearances on television
- Andy Bernard sings a variation of the song with a sitar in the 10th episode of the 5th season of The Office, "Moroccan Christmas".[citation needed]
Appearances in films
- In Charles Lamont's 1932 short film War Babies, it was the first film in the Baby Burlesks series. The song is briefly used while Shirley Temple's character Charmaine is dancing around in Buttermilk Pete' cafe.
See also
- Farida Mazar Spyropoulos and Ashea Wabe (on the origins of "Hootchy Kootchy")
- Asian Riff (a similar stereotyped musical motif, popularly associated with China)
References
- ^ a b Elliott, June Anne (2000-02-19). "There's a Place in France: That "Snake Charmer" Song". All About Middle Eastern Dance. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ Settlemier, Tyrone (2009-07-07). "Berliner Discs: Numerical Listing Discography". Online 78rpm Discographical Project. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ Adams, Cecil (2007-02-23). "What is the origin of the song "There's a place in France/Where the naked ladies dance?" Are bay leaves poisonous?". The Straight Dope. Creative Loafing Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ "Shir Hasrisim"