Information AboutMack The Knife |
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"Mack the Knife", originally '''"Die Moritat von Mackie Messer"''', is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their ''Dreigroschenoper'', or, as it is known in English, '' The Threepenny Opera ''. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 . ''THE THREEPENNY OPERA'' A ''moritat'' is a Medieval version of the Murder Ballad performed by strolling Minstrel s, from ''mori'' meaning "deadly" and ''tat'' meaning "deed". In ''The Threepenny Opera'', the moritat singer with his street organ introduces and closes the drama with the tale of the deadly Mackie Messer, or Mack the Knife, a character based on the dashing Highwayman Macheath in John Gay 's '' The Beggar's Opera ''. The Brecht-Weill version was less dashing and much more cruel and sinister and has been transformed into a modern Anti-hero . The opera opens with the moritat singer comparing Macheath (unfavorably) with a Shark , and then telling tales of his robberies, murders, rapes, and arson: The first verse in German: :Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne, :Und die trägt er im Gesicht. :Und Macheath, der hat ein Messer, :Doch das Messer sieht man nicht. Literal translation: :And the shark, he has teeth, :And he wears them in his face, :And Macheath, he has a knife :But the knife one does not see. In the best known English Translation , from the Marc Blitzstein 1954 version of ''The Threepenny Opera'', which introduced the song to English-speaking audiences, the words are: :Oh the shark has pretty teeth dear, :And he shows them pearly white :Just a jacknife has Macheath dear :And he keeps it out of sight. This is the version performed on popular hits by Louis Armstrong ( 1956 ) and Bobby Darin ( 1959 ) (Darin's lyrics differ here and there), and most subsequent 'swing' versions. Weill's widow, Lotte Lenya , the star of both the original 1928 German production and the 1954 Blitzstein Broadway version, was present in the studio during Armstrong's recording. He spontaneously added her name to the lyrics, which already named several of Macheath's female victims. In 1976 the version translated by Ralph Manheim and John Willett opened on Broadway. Here is an excerpt: :See the shark with teeth like razors :You can read his open face :And Macheath, he's got a knife, and :In such an obvious place This is the version later performed by Sting and Nick Cave . It is also the version performed by Lyle Lovett on the soundtrack of the Film '' Quiz Show '' (1994) — the same movie that features the Darin rendition over the opening credits. A much darker translation into English was used for the 1994 Donmar Warehouse production in London: :Though the shark's teeth :May be lethal :Still you see them :White and red :But you won't see :Mackie's flick knife :Cause he's slashed you :And you're dead :Jenny Dipper :Was a stripper :Someone ripped her :From ear to ear :Though the knife work was artistic :Seems that Mackie :Was nowhere near :Someone's lying by the telly :With his children and his wife :It's a painting done in crimson :You could sign it "Mac the Knife" :Barney Goldstien was garrotted :For his cufflinks and a ring :The Savoy was full to bursting :Strange that no-one saw a thing :Little Johnny was abducted :And they sought him high and low :Though his parents paid the ransom :Mackie slashed him weeks ago :You remember that fire in Hounslow :Twenty Asians and a cat :While they're raking through the embers :Here's a flick knife -- Fancy that! :There's a schoolgirl :Who's a call girl :With a baby at her breast :Someone's robbed her :Someone's raped her :Someone's flick knife did the rest :These may seem like scary stories :But don't have nightmares or be upset :Still he's evil, he's a murderer :And they haven't caught him yet :He's a rapist :He's a sadist :And they haven't caught him yet. The rarely heard final verse, which closes the opera, and expresses the theme, compares the glittering world of the rich and powerful with the dark world of the poor: In German: :Denn die einen sind im Dunkeln :Und die andern sind im Licht :Und man siehet die im Lichte :Die im Dunkeln sieht man nicht In English: :There are some who are in darkness :And the others are in light :And you see the ones in brightness :Those in darkness drop from sight CRIMES OF MACHEATH The song attributes many crimes to Macheath:
The arson and rape were omitted from the Blitzstein version. AMERICAN POPULAR SONG "Mack the Knife" was introduced to the US Hit Parade by Louis Armstrong in 1954, but the song is most closely associated with Bobby Darin , who recorded his version at Fulton Studios on West 40th Street, NYC, December 19, 1958 ( Tom Dowd engineer). In 1959 Darin's version reached #1 on Billboard's Pop Singles and #6 on the Black Singles chart and was described by Frank Sinatra , who also recorded the song, as the "definitive" version. '') in which, after forgetting the lyrics after the first verse, she successfully improvised new lyrics in a performance that earned her a Grammy . Robbie Williams also recorded the song on his 2001 Swing album ''Swing When You're Winning''. Other notable versions of "Mack the Knife" include performances by Jimmie Dale Gilmore , Frank Sinatra , Tony Bennett , Nick Cave , Brian Setzer , and Michael Buble . Sonny Rollins recorded an instrumental version called simply "Moritat" in 1956. An unusual version was recorded by the UK "psychobilly" (ie. traditional rockabilly influenced by punk rock) band King Kurt in 1983 for their album "Ooowallahwallah!". It was a minor hit single in the UK Charts & in Europe, and was produced by Dave Edmunds of "I Hear You Knocking" fame. This version had a notably faster tempo, whilst remaining largely faithful to the "big band" format of the traditional version. Many versions of "Mack the Knife" pay homage to previous artists who have recorded the song by naming them towards the end. EXTERNAL LINKS
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