A pun on 3 words - gall, Gaul and Gaulle
At a time when General Charles de Gaulle was very unpopular in Britain - he had vetoed membership of the UK to the original Common Market (EU) . He seemed to thwart British Foreign policy at every turn and the media made out it was a vendetta for the way he had been treated by Churchill at the end of WW2.
British and French politics have changed a lot since then?
Vive de Gaulle!
This old man, he played one,
He played knick-knack at Verdun.
Cognac, Armagnac, Burgundy 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,
He came rolling home again.
This old man, he played trois,
Vive la France, la France c'est moi!
Gimcrack governments, call me if you please:
Colombey les deux Eglises.
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 is safe: I'm still alive.
Plastique, Pompidou, sing the Marseillaise,
Algerie, n'est pas francaise!
This old man, he played six,
France and England, they won't mix.
Eytie, Benelux, Germany, and Me:
that's my market recipe.
This old man, sept et huit,
NATO give me back my fleet!
kiss kiss Adenauer ratified in Bonn.
One old man goes on and on.
This old man, nine and ten,
He'll play Nick till God knows when,
Cognac, Armagnac, Burgundy and Beaune,
This old man thinks he's Saint Joan.