- Auprès de ma Blonde
"Auprès de ma Blonde" (French for "Next to my Girlfriend") or "Le Prisonnier de Hollande" ("The Prisoner of
Holland ") is a popularchanson dating to the 17th century. It appeared during or soon after theFranco-Dutch War , during the reign of Louis XIV, when French sailors and soldiers were commonly imprisoned in the Netherlands.The song's quick pace and lively melody made it well-suited to military marches, and it is still commonly played at parades. For the same reasons, it gained widespread popularity as a
drinking song andnursery rhyme .Appearances
*Television: The song appeared in two episodes of "", "Family", and '"Final Mission". It also appeared in the British tv movie "Sharpe's Revenge" being sung by General Calvet's men to
Richard Sharpe and Lucille.
*Books: "Auprès de ma Blonde" is the title of a 1972 detective novel by Nicolas Freeling featuring Commissaris Van der Valk, and his wife Arlette of Amsterdam.
*InRoger Zelazny 's book "Nine Princes in Amber ", Corwin claims to have been the one who composed the tune to Auprès de ma Blonde.External links
* [http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/thierry_klein/aupresde.htm Lyrics and MIDI]
* [http://pros.orange.fr/huchehault/L14blonde-szg.htm Additional information and translation of lyrics]
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