Song Of The Day 6/24/2013: Les Charlots - "Sois érotique"
You can probably tell from viewing "Sois érotique" why I had no option but to put it up here. A straight-on parody of legendary lustmaster Serge Gainsbourg's "Je t'aime moi non plus," it's a little hard for me to make out the plot. But judging from the video, gentlemen who appear to be on the French version of Hee Haw aren't getting any, at least not as much as Gainsbourg does, and have to dress up as women to satiate their desires. I'm sure there's more to the story than that.
In fact, if any of my old buddies in France want to have a go at translating the lyrics (or if you're a journeyperson French translator yourself), that'd be great! I'd give you credit. I tried using the many translators available online, but they had their limits. According to Google Translate, the final lines of the song are "Yesterday I went to the doctor / And I'm gonna take a drug / Who will leave the teeth." Unless this is a mash note to novocaine, I don't think I'm getting anywhere.
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Originally they were called Les Problèmes -- a name easier to translate to English -- and opened for Claude François, Johnny Hallyday, and Françoise Hardy. They were serious and skillful rock 'n' rollers, and recorded a fine album with Antoine (Antoine rencontre les Problèmes) in the mid-60s.
But then they went to Canada. We all know how that can change a man. Touring there with Antoine the met the Italian comedy band I Brutos (whom the actor Aldo Maccione was once a member of) and spun off into a different direction.
Charlot in French is the diminutive of Charles. It is also the name they refer to Charlie Chaplin as. Not the Tramp (or, I suppose, Le vagabond in French) nor Chaplin, but Charlot. Because of this, since the beginning of the 20th century, Charlot has been used to refer to someone who is a clown. And thus, Les charlots.