The song “La Goualante de Pauvre Jean” means “The Ballad of Poor John” (Marguerite Monnot, René Rouzaud) yet in English it is usually called “The Poor People of Paris”. The tune was made famous by French songstress Edith Piaf. It was introduced in 1961 in the US, adapted by Jack Lawrence in 1954.

A recording by Les Baxter's orchestra was a number-one hit in 1956.