Way down in the south of France
All the ladies love to dance
Kick their heels up in the air
Snap their fingers for romance
While the gentlemen compare
Blond or black or auburn hair
Check the motion and the style
Ah, you know they take their while
To make the motion more complete
Just to make it more a treat
Love will show us where to go
Come on down and see the show
When the rhythm’s really right
You can burn it down tonight
When the singing’s really fine
Sweet as Spanish sherry wine
When the club can’t contain the beat
It just rolls out in the street
Spills on down the avenue
Bringing dancers to their feet
When it’s good as it can be
It gets better, wait and see
These folks don’t never sleep
Till they’re passed out in the street
Way down in the south of France
All the ladies love to dance
Clap their hands and walk on air
Yeah, the feeling’s really there
Won’t you take a little taste
Raise it to your charming face?
When the rhythm’s really right
You can burn it down tonight
When the singing’s really fine
Sweet as Spanish sherry wine
Go on, take a chance
The ladies do love to dance
Words by Robert Hunter
Music by Bob Weir and Mickey Hart
Studio recording: Shakedown Street (November 15, 1978). Never performed live.
In A Box of Rain, Hunter published nine additional verses to “France” and wrote an explanatory note about its origins, as the words written to “tapes of a joyous afternoon Latin jam at Mickey Hart’s ranch.”