Name this show tune I randomly heard on the radio?

August 26, 2013 12:26 PM

I was driving around up near Boston a few months ago when I heard a show tune on the radio, and I haven't been able to get it (or more accurately, the novelty and good execution of its conceit) out of my head. If memory serves, it was a female solo piece. The lyrics began with the question Parlez-vous français?, but proceeded to cobble some common French phrases and famous names (I think I remember hearing Maurice Chevalier) into enjoyable rhyming gibberish, before finally ending with a belted Oprah Winfré! A Google search for what little I remember has proven useless. Does anyone here have any suggestions as to what the song was and where I might purchase it?
posted by The Confessor to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Best answer: Was this on a weekend afternoon? Because this sounds like something WERS might play on either their showtunes or acapella shows (was it acapella?). You might email the station and ask.
posted by Adridne at 12:29 PM on August 26, 2013

Sounds like/reminds me of foux da fafa except there's no Oprah initial.
posted by bleep at 12:38 PM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Well, I found this by searching WERS's playlist, and bought the song on iTunes. It's certainly the song I remember, but perhaps not the artist and/or rendition. There's nothing approaching a belt in it, and no climactic Oprah Winfré... which was a stroke of genius that made the song so unforgettable for me in the first place.
posted by The Confessor at 1:08 PM on August 26, 2013

Response by poster: And here are some lyrics... which, unfortunately, only approximate what's in the version of the song I linked.
posted by The Confessor at 1:17 PM on August 26, 2013

If you're not sure you found the right thing, you could contact Standing Room Only next week (10-2 on Saturday, I often listen but was not last week) and ask them exactly what they played the previous week. That new playlist thing they use is not 100% accurate all the time.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:34 PM on August 26, 2013

Oh wait, I see this was a few months ago- is it possible you heard a live performance of that number? They sometimes have guests from local area shows.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:43 PM on August 26, 2013

Best answer: My first thought, which is what you linked from WERS's playlist, is "The French Song" from A... My Name Is Alice. I've performed it several times since being in a community theatre production of the show many years ago. The lyrics you posted look about right from what I remember. My guess is that the singer you heard may have substituted "Oprah Winfré" for "Jacqueline Bouvier" as a way to make it more up-to-date or generally funnier.
posted by Starling at 5:06 PM on August 26, 2013