Index
Mademoiselle From Armentieres
WW1 images & Songs- Jack Charman - 1915
Gepubliceerd op 30 apr. 2013
Mademoiselle From Armentieres is probably better known in its bawdy version "The German Soldiers
Crossed the Line etc." which was popular during both world wars. This version was recorded by Jack
Charman in 1915.
One of the favourites of the soldiers in the first world war, this is one of those songs that everyone
adds verses to, with varying degrees of suitability for family listening.
The melody itself was believed to be popular in the French army in the 1830s, but little is known
about the origins of the song itself. The earliest known version tells the story of an inn-keeper's
daughter, Mademoiselle de Bar le Luc, who meets up with two German officers. The tune regained
its popularity during the Franco-Prussia war of 1870, and again in 1914.
One story is that Gits Rice, a Nova Scotian sergeant in the Canadian Army sat down in a little cafe in
the small town of Armentieres, near Lille, in 1915 and, inspired by the barmaid serving drinks, wrote
the words and performed it a few days later for the 5th Montreal battalion, which was stationed in
France.
The song has also been attributed to Harry Carlton and Joe Tunbridge, and also to Cecil H Winter,
an Australian bush poet serving with the ANZACS in England and France in 1915-16. Of course it's
possible that all these writers were responsible for different variations of the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzb7yMOW5OA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKzhQ4j9HD4&feature=player_detailpage
WW1 images & Songs- Jack Charman - 1915
Gepubliceerd op 30 apr. 2013
Mademoiselle From Armentieres is probably better known in its bawdy version "The German Soldiers
Crossed the Line etc." which was popular during both world wars. This version was recorded by Jack
Charman in 1915.
One of the favourites of the soldiers in the first world war, this is one of those songs that everyone
adds verses to, with varying degrees of suitability for family listening.
The melody itself was believed to be popular in the French army in the 1830s, but little is known
about the origins of the song itself. The earliest known version tells the story of an inn-keeper's
daughter, Mademoiselle de Bar le Luc, who meets up with two German officers. The tune regained
its popularity during the Franco-Prussia war of 1870, and again in 1914.
One story is that Gits Rice, a Nova Scotian sergeant in the Canadian Army sat down in a little cafe in
the small town of Armentieres, near Lille, in 1915 and, inspired by the barmaid serving drinks, wrote
the words and performed it a few days later for the 5th Montreal battalion, which was stationed in
France.
The song has also been attributed to Harry Carlton and Joe Tunbridge, and also to Cecil H Winter,
an Australian bush poet serving with the ANZACS in England and France in 1915-16. Of course it's
possible that all these writers were responsible for different variations of the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzb7yMOW5OA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKzhQ4j9HD4&feature=player_detailpage
