The chorus of "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" is French for "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" When Labelle performed the song on television, broadcast standards of the day prohibited them from singing the chorus as written, so they changed it to "Voulez-vous danser avec moi ce soir?" which means "Do you want to dance with me?"
This song is about New Orleans prostitutes. The French Quarter is near the city's red-light district.
Bob Crewe wrote this song with Kenny Nolan. Crewe is a producer who worked on many songs in the '60s, including hits by The Four Seasons. "Lady Marmalade" was not typical of Crewe's work, but it was the biggest and last hit he worked on. It became the biggest hit for the songwriting/production team of Crewe and Nolan, and strangely, it replaced another one of their songs, "My Eyes Adored You" by Frankie Valli, at #1 in America in March 1975.
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