Mack the Knife

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For other uses, see Mack the Knife (disambiguation).

"Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928. The song has become a pop standard.

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[edit] The Threepenny Opera

A moritat is a medieval version of the murder ballad performed by strolling minstrels, 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 song 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
An 'nem schönen blauen Sonntag
Liegt ein toter Mann am Strand
Und ein Mensch geht um die Ecke,
Den man Mackie Messer nennt
Und Schmul Meier bleibt verschwunden
Und so mancher reiche Mann
Und sein Geld hat Mackie Messer
Dem man nichts beweisen kann
Jenny Towler ward gefunden
Mit 'nem Messer in der Brust
Und am Kai geht Mackie Messer,
Der von allem nichts gewußt
Und die minderjährige Witwe
Deren Namen jeder weiß
Wachte auf und war geschändet
Mackie welches war dein Preis?
Refrain
Und die einen sind im Dunkeln
Und die anderen sind im Licht
Doch man sieht nur die im Lichte
Die im Dunklen sieht man nicht
Doch man sieht nur die im Lichte
Die im Dunklen 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 you don't see
On a beautiful blue Sunday
Lies a dead man on the Strand
And a man goes around the corner
Whom they call Mack the Knife
And Schmul Meier is missing
And many a rich man
And his money has Mack the Knife,
On whom they can't pin anything.
Jenny Towler was found
With a knife in her chest
And on the wharf walks Mack the Knife,
Who knows nothing about all this.
And the minor-aged widow,
Whose name everyone knows,
Woke up and was violated
Mack, what was your price?
And some are in the darkness
And the others in the light
But you only see those in the light
Those in the darkness you don't see
But you only see those in the light
Those in the darkness you don't see

[edit] 1954 Blitzstein translation

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 jack-knife 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.

The rarely heard final verse—not included in the original play, but added by Brecht for the 1930 movie—expresses the theme, and 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

[edit] 1976 Manheim-Willett translation

In 1976 the version translated by Ralph Manheim and John Willett opened on Broadway, a movie version was later made starring Raul Julia as Mackie. Here is an excerpt:

See the shark with teeth like razors
You can read his open face
And Macheath, he's got a knife, but
Not 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.

[edit] 1994 translation

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

[edit] Crimes of Macheath

The song attributes many crimes to Macheath:

  • A dead man in London, on the famous street Strand
  • A rich man, Schmul Meier, disappeared for good
  • Jenny Towler, killed with a knife in the chest
  • Seven children and an old man killed in an arson fire
  • Rape of an underage widow (minderjährige Witwe) in her bed

The arson and rape were omitted from the Blitzstein version.

[edit] Popular song

"Mack the Knife" was introduced to the U.S. 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 (with Tom Dowd engineering the recording). In 1959 Darin's version reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 and number six on the Black Singles chart, and was described by Frank Sinatra, who also recorded the song, as the "definitive" version. Pop mogul Simon Cowell later named the song (as sung by Bobby Darin) the best song ever written on Radio 4's Desert Island Disks.

Ella Fitzgerald made a famous live recording in 1960 (released on Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife) 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 album Swing When You're Winning. Other notable versions of "Mack the Knife" include performances by Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave, Brian Setzer, Westlife, Merrill Osmond, Kenny Garrett, Kevin Spacey and Michael Bublé. Sonny Rollins recorded an instrumental version called simply "Moritat" in 1956. A 1959 instrumental performance by Bill Haley & His Comets was the final song the group recorded for Decca Records, Tito Puente has also recorded a instrumental version. Many versions of "Mack the Knife" pay homage to previous artists who have recorded the song by naming them towards the end.

In the United Kingdom, psychobilly band King Kurt recorded the song for their 1983 album Ooowallahwallah!. It was produced by Dave Edmunds. The song was a minor hit single on the UK charts and in Europe. The Psychedelic Furs recorded a version that was the B-side of their 1981 single "Pretty in Pink."

The song "Pedro Navaja" from the L.P Siembra (1979) by Rubén Blades and Willy Colón is loosely based on the lyrics from Mack The Knife.

The song has been put to many other uses. American parodists the Capitol Steps used the tune for their song "Pack the Knife" in their 2002 album When Bush Comes to Shove. Morgan Stanley CEO John J. Mack once put on a shark costume and sang "Mack the Knife" at a charity event, a feat that reportedly raised $75,000. In the mid-1980s, McDonalds introduced "Mac Tonight", a character whose theme song was based upon "Mack the Knife".

[edit] Selective list of recorded versions

Preceded by
"Sleep Walk" by Santo & Johnny
Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Bobby Darin version)
October 5, 1959
Succeeded by
"Mr. Blue" by The Fleetwoods

[edit] External links

In other languages