This is the one and only Yvette Gilbert (1865-1944) singing Madame Arthur as only she can. Yvette Guilbert was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque and her raunchy, audacious style fascinated audiences. Madame Arthur is one of her signature pieces written by her and Paul de Kock. This recording is from 1934. Listen to her beautifully sung speech! In France she was called a "diseuse", a "sayer" for the way she sang and said the text. Her delivery is perfection! Be sure to watch the interesting footage at the end of the video, where you will see as well as hear Yvette Guilbert speaking at a meeting and then sing part of a song she made popular. We get a real sense here of the force of her personality and her ability to command and direct all in her presence.
Each verse discusses some aspect of Madame Arthur's extraordinary personality, followed by a chorus:
Madame Arthur est une femme
Qui fit parler, parler, parler, parler d'elle longtemps,
Sans journaux, sans rien, sans réclame
Elle eut une foule d'amants,
Chacun voulait être aimé d'elle,
Chacun la courtisait, pourquoi ?
C'est que sans être vraiment belle,
Elle avait un je ne sais quoi !
Madame Arthur is a such woman
Whom others talk, and talk, and talk about her forever,
Without newspapers, without anything, without calling
She has a crowd of lovers,
Everyone wants to be loved by her,
Everyone courts her, why?
It’s that without being really beautiful,
She has that “ je ne sais quoi!” / “I don’t know what!”
