This is a humorous cabaret song from 1935, performed by Maurice Chevalier.
The song centers the story of Prosperus, a roguish Parisian pimp portrayed with comic flair as a darkly satirical archetype. The cheerful and upbeat music against the description of this unsavoury behaviour of exploitation, violence and cowardice makes the song so quite interesting. A classic example of French cabaret’s tradition using transgressive subjects with irony and lightness.
Stylish and charismatic, Prosperus relies on his looks and charm without exerting effort. Women are drawn to him and often fight among themselves for his attention, while he passively enjoys watching their catfights.
Lazy; his only involvement is collecting the girls’ money, beating them up, or sending them to towns with large barracks in preparation for their work for him.
“Et quand sur le champ (And when on the spot)
Elles ne sont pas à la page (They are not up to scratch)
Voulant fermement (Wanting to firmly)
Faire leur apprentissage (Complete their educations)
Dans une ville de garnison (In a military town)
Il les envoie en saison (He sends them for a season)
Faire un petit stage” (To complete an apprenticeship)
Furthermore, Prosperus is a coward: should a woman be caught by the police, Prosperus will let her down and restock with new women.
“Quand une femme se fait coincer (When a woman gets caught)
Par les roussins du quartier (By the cops in the area)
Il la laisse tomber (He lets her down)
Et il s’en va carrément (And he’s straight up leaving)
Vers son réassortiment (To restock)
Dans l’arrondissement” (In the area)
Quand on voit passer l’grand Prospère
Sur la place Pigalle
Avec son beau p’tit chapeau vert
Et sa martingale
A son air malabar
Et sa démarche en canard
Faut pas être bachelier
Pour deviner son métier
Prospère et yop la boum
C’est le chéri de ces dames
Prospère et yop la boum
C’est le roi du macadam
Comme il a toujours la flemme
Y fait jamais rien lui-même
Il a son harem
Qui de Clichy à Barbès
Le jour et la nuit sans cesse
Fait son p’tit business
Et l’soir, tous les soirs
Dans un coin d’ombre propice
Faut l’voir, faut bien l’voir
Encaisser les bénéfices
Il ramasse les billets
Et leur laisse la monnaie
Oh quel sacrifice
En somme c’est leur manager
Et yop la boum, Prospère
Avec sa belle gueule d’affranchi
Là-haut sur la butte
Toutes les gonzesses sont folles de lui
Et se le disputent
Y en a qui s’planquent des gnons
Mais oui, et se crêpent le chignon
Pendant c’temps, voyez-vous
Tranquillement y compte les coups
Prospère et yop la boum
C’est le chéri de ces dames
Prospère et yop la boum
C’est le roi du macadam
Quand une femme se fait poisser
Par les rousins du quartier
Il la laisse tomber
Et y s’en va carrément
Faire son réassortiment
Dans l’arrondissement
Et quand sur-le-champ
Elles ne sont pas à la page
Voulant fermement
Faire leur apprentissage
Dans une ville de garnison
Il les envoie en saison
Faire un petit stage
Il a d’la classe et du flair
Et yop la boum, Prospère
Et yop la boum
Et yop la boum
Dans une ville de garnison
Il les envoie en saison
Faire un petit stage
Il a d’la classe et du flair
Et yop la boum, Prospère
When you see the great Prosperus passing by
On the Place Pigalle
With his beautiful little green hat
and his chic overcoat
With his beefy look
and waddling like a duck
You don’t have to be a graduate
to guess his job
Prosperus yop la boom
He is the darling of his ladies
Prosperus and yop la boom
He is the king of the pavement
As he can never be bothered
He never does anything himself
He has a harem
Whom from Clichy to Barbesse
Night and day; all the time
Sizes his little racket
Every evening,
in a shady corner
You have to see it, you have to see it well
Cashing in on his profits.
He collects up the notes
and leaves them the change
Oh, what a sacrifice
In short, he is their manager
And yop la boom Prosperus
with his good-looking gangster mug
Up there on the hill.
All the chicks are crazy about him
And competes for him.
Some throw punches at each other.
Well, yes, and a cat fight
Meanwhile, you see,
Quietly, he counts the blows.
Prosperus and yop la boom.
He is the darling of these ladies
Prosperus and yop la boom.
He is the king of the pavement.
When a woman gets picked up
By the local fuzz
He lets her down
And gets the heck of out of there
To restock
from the neighbourhood
And when in the immediate,
they are not up for it,
He firmly
sends them to learn
In a Garisson town
He sends them on holiday
To complete a little apprenticeship
He has class and panache
And yop la boom Prosperus
and yop la boom
and yop la boom
To a garrison town
He sends them for a season
To complete a short internship
He has class and panache
And yop la Prosperus boom
Between the French lyrics 
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