The Ballad of Mack the Knife
Lyrics written by: Marc Blitzstein
Original music written by: Kurt Weill
Original lyrics written by: Bertolt Brecht
Adapted from: Moritat von Mackie Messer written by Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht
Comments: From "The Threepenny Opera", a translation of "Die Dreigroschen Oper".
First performance: The Ballad of Mack the Knife by Gerald Price (March 10, 1954)
Mack the Knife Lyrics
Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white
Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe
And he keeps it, ah, out of sight
Ya know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, oh, wears old MacHeath, babe
So there’s never, never a trace of red
Now on the sidewalk, huh, huh, whoo sunny morning, un huh
Lies a body just oozin' life, eek
And someone’s sneakin' ‘round the corner
Could that someone be Mack the Knife?
There's a tugboat, huh, huh, down by the river dontcha know
Where a cement bag’s just a'drooppin' on down
Oh, that cement is just, 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
And now MacHeath spends just like a sailor
Could it be our boy's done somethin' rash?
Now Jenny Diver, ho, ho, yeah, 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
Look out to Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown
Yes, that line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky’s back in town
Look out, old Macky's back!!
Mack the Knife Singers
1 Gerald Price March 10, 1954 (performance date) 2 Louis Armstrong and His All-Stars October 1955 3 Bing Crosby with Bob Scobey's Frisco Jazz Band 1957 4 Jonah Jones 1957
5
Bobby Darin (
billboard hot 100 1959, 60) March 1959.
6 Dick Jordan October 1959 7 Anita O'Day, Jimmy Giuffre 1959 8 Ella Fitzgerald 1960 9 The Incredible Jimmy Smith 1960 10 Will Holt 1960 11 Patti Page July 1962 12 Henry Jerome, His Chorus and Orchestra 1963 13 Wayne Newton 1964 14 The Four Seasons 1965 15 Tuxen 1975 16 The Psychedelic Furs June 1981 17 Ignace 1982 18 Teresa Brewer 1982 19 Frank Sinatra with Quincy Jones and Orchestra August 1984 20 Sting and Dominic Muldowney 1985 21 Frankie Armstrong, Dave Van Ronk 1989 22 Helen Schneider 1989 23 Frank Sinatra & Jimmy Buffett November 15, 1994 24 Lyle Lovett 1994 25 Marianne Faithfull September 1996 26 Dee Dee Bridgewater 1997 27 Nick Cave 1997 28 Jack Jones 1997 29 Rob Stoneback Big Band 1997 30 Doug Ferony 1998 31 Chie Ayado 1998 32 Lisa Stansfield 1999 33 Jimmie Dale Gilmore February 29, 2000 34 The Brian Setzer Orchestra July 31, 2000 35 Nicholas Payton April 2001 36 Robbie Williams November 19, 2001 37 Emily Saxe 2001 38 Greg Englert 2002 39 Michael Bublé March 30, 2004 40 Westlife November 8, 2004 41 Andy Lee Lang & The Marco Zarello Big Band 2004 42 Steve Abbruzzi 2006 43 Ray Quinn March 12, 2007 44 Helmut Lotti September 12, 2008 45 Garou June 30, 2009 46 Deana Martin 2009 47 Clay Aiken June 1, 2010 48 Charlie Cuccia 2010 49 ortoPilot 2011 50 Dee Snider May 8, 2012 51 Mark Lanegan September 17, 2013 52 Dick Hyman Trio
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