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Mack The Knife
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I've loved this song since I was 8 years old. I figured "WTH, why not give it a shot?" And it has a fascinating story.... This song was originally from "The Threepenny Opera", a German opera first staged in 1928. It was co-written by Bertolt Brech
jazz blues swing big band r s cain mack the knife
I'm a guitarist, singer, and songwriter from central Kentucky. My music is a mix of many different influences; from the country and western I heard as a child
I'm a guitarist, singer, and songwriter from central Kentucky. My music is a mix of many different influences; from the country and western I heard as a child to some stuff I heard yesterday. I was a full time, working musician for over twenty years; doing clubs and concerts all over the eastern U.S., but mainly in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, and Florida. I have played every kind of venue; from the smallest, seediest club to 10,000 seat concert halls. Loved every minute of it. I also spent many hours in various studios as both musician and producer on a variety of projects. I am now a part time musician; I divide my musical time between writing and recording my own songs and playing with a great bunch of musicians in a band called "The Grandees". I write songs primarily to make you shake your money maker. I'm not deep, and I'm certainly no virtuoso. I just want you to have a good time. The songs I have here are from my second solo CD, titled "The Twisted Tale Of The Honky Tonk Monkey", which is available at CDBaby.com and my upcoming CD "Bad Choices Make Good Stories". My first CD, "All Night Radio", is available at CD Baby and fine CD discount bins everywhere. Thank you for visiting, and... TURN IT UP!!!!!
Song Info
Genre
Jazz • Cover Songs
Charts
#665 today Peak #17
#55 in subgenre Peak #2
Author
Brecht/Weil
Uploaded
January 08, 2020
Track Files
MP3
MP3 7.9 MB • 320 kbps • 3:27
Lossless
FLAC 26.2 MB
Story behind the song
I've loved this song since I was 8 years old. I figured "WTH, why not give it a shot?" And it has a fascinating story.... This song was originally from "The Threepenny Opera", a German opera first staged in 1928. It was co-written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weil. The lyrics were revised and Americanized in 1954 by Marc Bliztstein. When Louis Armstrong recorded the song he added the name of Lotte Lenya, who was a German actress (Colonel Klebb in From Russia With Love) married to Weil and who happened to be in the studio that day representing his interests. During the recording Armstrong forgot one of the names he was supposed to sing (Polly Peacham) so he inserted Lotte Lenya, whom he had just met. The song then became a #1 hit for Bobby Darin in 1959, who recorded it against the wishes of his record company. He was that kind of guy... Another interesting note: the engineer on Darrin's recording was Tom Dowd, one of the most innovative and influential recording engineers and producers in history. And if you listen to the original recording (which this arrangement pretty much duplicates), you can hear all the influences, from the oompah of the 20s German opera to the Jazz and Swing of the 30s (when the song first became popular in America) to Big Band, Blues, and beyond. It's really pretty amazing.
Lyrics
Oh, the shark has pretty teeth, dear And it shows them pearly white Just a jackknife has MacHeath, babe And it keeps it way out of sight When that shark bites with his teeth, dear Scarlet billows begin to spread Fancy gloves, wears old MacHeath, babe So there's never, never a trace of red On the sidewalk, one Sunday mornin Lies a body oozin' life Someone's sneakin' round that corner Could that someone be Mack the Knife? Oh there's a tugboat down, down by the river dontcha know Where a cement bag's just a'drooppin' on down That cement's there, it's there for the weight, dear Five'll get ya ten old Macky's back in town Now d'ja hear 'bout Louie Miller? He disappeared, babe After drawin' out all his hard-earned cash Now MacHeath spends, he spends like a sailor Could that boy have done somethin' rash? Ahhhh Jenny Diver, ho, Sukey Tawdry Ooh, Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown Oh, the line forms on the right, babe Now that Macky's back in town I said Jenny Diver, whoa, Sukey Tawdry Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown Oh, the line forms on the right, babe Now that Macky's back in town Look out, old Macky is back!
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