I sing in a local chorale in Twin Falls, and we had rehearsal this evening. We are performing a selection from Jacques Offenbach’s comic opera, Lo jolie Parfumeuse. It’s called the “Neighbors’ Chorus.” It was written in 1954 and is so…well, you can see for yourself. Here are the lyrics:
Please excuse us, mister, we don’t want to bother, we only want to know
Why do you look so low? Give us all the lowdown,
Did you reach a show-down with your last lady love?
Did she keep you waiting, did she break your date?
Please elucidate, please elaborate
Did she treat you badly, was she very bad?
Did she make you mad? Are you very sad?Was she a very rich man’s daughter
Who showed that she was not all you thought her?
When with your songs of love you sought her,
Were you dowsed with water poured down from above?Did you beat her, try to choke her till you made her pout?
Did her father take a poker, did he throw you out?
Did you beat her and choke her and knock her all about? Ah!
I’m looking at my 80-yr old friend Joan in the choir and she can’t believe what she’s singing. Joe, who is close to 80 and sits next to me, looks at me after we finish singing it and says, “It’s a silly song, if you ask me.”