Obviously you are shocked. Hortense, we’re talking about here, Hortense is a woman and to hear this man promise her a good pair of slaps in the face, it’s downright unbearable. You don’t hit women, especially not your own wife, no matter what she did or said. And yet, this song made people laugh when it was recorded for the first time in 1959 by Louis Massis, then a few more times in the years that followed.
But it doesn’t seem to me that it has been performed very much in public in recent years. And yet it’s a song by Boris Vian – Boris Vian the author of DeserterBoris Vian the bane of conservatives, Boris Vian the author of I’ll go spit on your gravesBoris Vian the icon.
In the second episode of These songs that make the news airing this weekend, you hear excerpts from:
Louis Massis, A good pair of slaps1959
Georges Brassens, Ninety-five percent1972
Georges Brassens, Spanking1966
I AM, Born under the same star2004
Seth Gueko, Mireille’s Cat2013
Jul, Fratellu2017
The Mitoufles, Three slaps and a kiss1964
You can also follow the news of this column on Twitter.
Our series of summer 2022 chronicles, behind our voicescan still be listened to by scrolling down this page.
And you can also find on this link Behind our voices, with the writing and composition secrets of eight major artists of the French scene, Laurent Voulzy, Julien Clerc, Bénabar, Dominique A, Carla Bruni, Emily Loizeau, Juliette and Gaëtan Roussel.