Adolphe – Valse chantée – Lyrics by Marcel Houdin, music by Camille Jolin and Marcel Houdin – a one-time publication. A satirical song about the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler – written during his lifetime, before the end of the war. Printed by R. Leclerc, France, 1945 – an extremely rare publication.
A biting satirical ballad that narrates the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler, from his beginnings as a failed artist to his end as a hunted criminal. The song portrays him as a man who gained undeserved admiration, blindly swept the masses, and turned politics into a deadly circus. Throughout the song, his forceful domination of European countries is depicted – erasing borders, scorning nations, and ignoring warnings. His boastfulness and boundless ambition lead to collapse in the face of the Soviet Union and the entrance of the Western powers into the fray, until the entire world unites against him. The recurring chorus expresses a vow of revenge – a reckoning that all of humanity is destined to exact for his barbaric crimes. The song weaves mockery, protest, and fury, sharply dissecting Hitler’s persona through poetic yet razor-edged language.
Lyrics:
A. There once was a painter of buildings,
Not exactly a shining star.
He was good—perhaps—but not at the time
For doing mass-produced painting.
But his friends from the suburbs
Saw in him a rare temperament,
They turned him into an idol
And lifted him to the heavens.
Chorus (Refrain)::
Adolf, Adolf,
You managed to make us cry,
For all your barbaric crimes—
We will settle the score with you, all of us,
And collect the debt.
B. He began to “convert” all his geese,
And that was considered a success.
Everyone marched to his rhythm,
Even without gym equipment.
Then—fire in the Reichstag!
What beautiful politics…
In Berchtesgaden with the German maidens,
He sang about joy and wine in Vienna.
C. One day, without knowing why,
He shamelessly declared:
“Austria, Czechoslovakia—they’re mine!”
Then came Poland’s turn.
The Poles, with anxious hearts,
Loathed him in disgust.
He ran into a “Bach”
Who wanted to avenge the Czechs—
And war began immediately.
D. He took one bite of Poland,
Then moved straight on to France.
In the Balkans, Greece was already burning,
And the “Fritz” were dancing in circles.
In Crete he thought to rest,
His heart full of hope.
But all at once he absorbed it all,
Fuel that drove him mad—
And he said: “I’ll continue to Baku!”
E. Then—the alliance with Russia ended.
She warned Adolf:
“Stop, or I’ll take Silesia from you!”
He mocked her,
But she wasn’t laughing.
Did you really think you’d conquer all of Europe?
This overambitious man,
Without asking anyone,
Charged at Ukraine like a lion.
F. Ah, poor idiot, you got the blow,
From the great land of oil.
From that day—your illusions were gone,
And your aura was lost.
Flexible like rubber—you began to retreat.
Your dreams flew off in the wind.
That flexibility…
Will soon vanish,
And the rope will be ready for revenge.
G. Then came the punch from America,
You ran from the English,
But we, the French,
Will break your Rhine borders.
We’ll strike you until you disappear,
You won’t escape the Russian side either.
The whole world will unite,
To rid itself
Of the greatest criminal of the war.
Repeated chorus:
Adolf, Adolf,
You managed to make us cry,
For all your barbaric crimes—
We will settle the score with you, all of us,
And collect the debt.
Extremely rare. Only one copy recorded in the WorldCat global library catalog.
[4] pp. Very good condition.
