This old man, he played one
He played knick knack at Verdun
Cognac, Armagnac, Bergundy and Beaune
This old man came rolling home
This old man, world war two
He told Churchill what to do
Free French General, Crosses of Lorraine
This old man came home again
This old man, he played trios
Vive la France, la France est moi
Gimcrack government scorn me if you please
Colombey-les-deux-Églises
This old man, he played four
Choose De Gaulle or civil war
Come back president, govern by decree
Referendum: Oui, oui, oui!
This old man he played five
France all right, I’m still alive
Plastic Pompidou, sing the Marseillaise—
Algérie n’est pas Française
This old man, he played six
France and England, they won’t mix
Eyetie, Benelux, Germany and me
That’s my market recipe
This old man, sept et huit
NATO give me back my fleet
Tut, tut Adenauer ratified in Bonn
This old man goes on and on
This old man, nine and ten
He’ll play nick ’till God knows when
Cognac, Armagnac, Bergundy and Beaune
This old man thinks he’s Saint Joan!
Charles de Gaulle was wounded and captured by the Germans at Verdun in 1916.
During World War Two, he formed a government in exile in London and led the Free French forces.
Colombey-les-deux-Églises is the location
of the home and grave of Charles de Gaulle. The latter is marked by a
50m high
Cross of Lorraine.
In September 1958, a new constitution was approved in a referendum.
An assassination attempt by the OAS at Pont-sur-Seine failed in September 1961.
In April 1962, the French people voted for Algerian independence.
de Gaulle vetoed British entry into the European Community in January 1963.
When de Gaulle and Adenauer’s Franco-German bilateral treaty of 1963 was
ratified in Bonn, the Germans added a preamble that reaffirmed the commitment of
Germany to the Atlantic Alliance. France's Mediterranean fleet was withdrawn
from NATO command in March 1959 and de Gaulle pulled France out of the joint
NATO command structure in 1966.
