Leck mich im Arsch (literally "Lick me in the arse") is a canon in B-flat major composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 231 (K. 382c), with lyrics in German. It was one of a set of at least six canons probably written in Vienna in 1782.[1] Sung by six voices as a three-part round, it is thought to be a party piece for his friends.
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A literal translation of the song's title and lyrics into English would be "Lick me in the arse". A more idiomatic translation would be "Kiss my arse", or even "Get stuffed".[2]
Mozart died in 1791 and his widow, Constanze Mozart, sent the manuscripts of the canons to publishers Breitkopf & Härtel in 1799, saying that they would need to be adapted for publication. The publisher changed the title and lyrics of this canon to the more acceptable "Laßt froh uns sein" ("Let us be glad!"), similar to the traditional German Christmas carol, "Lasst uns froh und munter sein". Of Mozart's original text, only the first words were documented in Breitkopf publishers' catalogue of his works.[3]
A new text version, which may have been the authentic one, came to light in 1991. Handwritten texts to this and several other similar canons were found added to a printed score of the work in an historical printed edition acquired by Harvard University's Music Library. They had evidently been added to the book by a later hand. However, since in six of the pieces these entries matched texts that had, in the meantime, independently come to light in original manuscripts, it was hypothesised that the remaining three may, too, have been original, including texts for K. 231 ("Leck mich im Arsch" itself), and another Mozart work, "Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber" ("Lick my arse nice and clean", K. 233; K. 382d in the revised numbering).[4] Later research has indicated that the latter composition is probably the work of Wenzel Trnka (1739–91).[5][6][7][8]
The original incipit attested in the earliest Breitkopf catalogue consisted only of the words Leck mich im Arsch.[3] The text rediscovered in 1991 consists only of the repeated phrases:[9]
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Leck mich im A… g'schwindi, g'schwindi!
Leck im A… mich g'schwindi.
Leck mich, leck mich,
g'schwindi
etc. etc. etc.
(where A… obviously stands for Arsch; g'schwindi means 'quickly').
The bowdlerized text of the early printed editions reads:
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Laßt uns froh sein! |
Let us be glad! |
Another semi-bowdlerized adaptation is found in the recordings of The Complete Mozart edition by Brilliant:[10][11]
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Leck mich im Arsch! |
Kiss my arse! |
This is a clear allusion to the line
… er kann mich im Arsche lecken!
attributed to the late medieval German knight Götz von Berlichingen, known best as the title hero of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's drama.
This version contains a slight error about the Goethe source: the line occurs in the third act.[12][13]
| "Leck mich im Arsch" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Insane Clown Posse | ||||
| B-side | "Mountain Girl" | |||
| Released | September 13, 2011 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | August 2011 | |||
| Length | 3:06 | |||
| Label | Third Man | |||
| Writer(s) | Joseph Bruce, Joseph Utsler, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Jack White | |||
| Producer | Jack White | |||
| Insane Clown Posse chronology | ||||
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In August 2011, Insane Clown Posse was contacted by Jack White, who invited Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler to his mansion because he wanted to collaborate with them.[14][15] White played the track he was working on, an arrangement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Leck mich im Arsch" with live instrumentation by JEFF the Brotherhood, for Bruce and Utsler and explained that the title of the track translated to "Lick My Ass".[14][15]
Bruce perceived that the scatological nature of the composition was the reason why White asked Bruce and Utsler to appear on the song, but once White explained Mozart's sense of humor, they became excited to work with White, went back to their hotel room to write their lyrics, and returned to record with White and JEFF the Brotherhood in White's home recording studio.[14][15] Bruce and Utsler's vocals were recorded in one take.[15] The song was released as a single on September 13, 2011 by White's label Third Man Records.[14][15][16]
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