Because everyone needs a new earworm.
In the centre of Vichy’s very fine spa complex is a bandstand. The idea was that drinking the water, sitting in the water, being hosed down with the water etc etc can only take up a small part of the day, and so Other Entertainments would be needed.
The bandstand is decorated with some fine ornamental ironwork which from a distance looks like a collection of musical motifs, but up close appears to be suspiciously like real music. I tried humming some of them and found to my delight that one was Frere Jaques, and anther was Sur le Pont d’Avignon.
But what were the others? Vichy tourist board to the rescue!
Dear Catherine PHILLIPSON,
Thank you for your interest about Vichy. You can find some informations on the website: https://www.vichy-patrimoine-mondial.com/patrimoine/kiosque-a-musique/
There are 6 songs on the kiosque : “Au clair de la Lune”, “J’ai du bon tabac”, “Frère Jacques”, “Sur le Pont d’Avignon”, “Nous n’irons plus au bois” & “Ma boulangère a des écus”.
Hope to see you soon in Vichy!
Best regards,
Aurélie
So assuming you already know Au clair de la Lune, Sur le Pont and Frere Jaques, here are the others. If you dare…
The now politically-incorrect J’ai du bon tabac:
An irritatingly sprightly version of Nous n’irons plus au bois
And a song about the benefits of marrying for money if you are comdemmed to a life as a baker:
I wonder that they couldn’t find any space for Alouette…