# Mack the Knife lyrics interpretation, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 31, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383 "2009-08-31T18:23:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/1 "2009-08-31T18:23:03Z")
One of the middle verses of Mack the Knife (working with the Bobby Darin version, from memory) goes: There’s a tugboat down by the river With cement bags, just a-droopin’ on down Oh that cement is just there for the weight, babe Five’ll get you 10 ol’ Mackie’s back in town. So…what the hell? What does Mack have to do with the tugboat, and why the cement bags? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/2 "2009-08-31T18:30:18Z")
To weigh a body down; ya know, sleeping with the fish. Old Mackie is a gangster. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/3 "2009-08-31T18:32:25Z")
_Mack the Knife_ is based on a character named Mackie Messer (messer is German for “knife”) in \*The Threepenny Opera \* (in German, _Die Dreigroschenoper_), by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, which in turn was based on \*The Beggar’s Opera \*by John Gay, which contained a character called Macheath. Mackie Messer was much more violent than Macheath, and a song introducing him compares him to a shark. The cement bags and tugboat in Darin’s version refer to his dropping one of his victims overboard. The Wikipedia article is quite good. > **[Mack the Knife](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife)** > > "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (German: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer") is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama The Threepenny Opera (German: Die Dreigroschenoper). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld from the musical named Macheath, the "Mack the Knife" of the title. > The song has become a popular standard recorded by many artists after it was recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1955. The most popu... Oh, and the Master speaks! [What’s the story behind “Mack the Knife”? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2155/whats-the-story-behind-mack-the-knife) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/4 "2009-08-31T18:43:09Z")
Aha. Thanks! I knew Mack was a gangster (well, duh…). But I thought the cement was weighing down the \*tugboat \*for some reason that I couldn’t fathom. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/5 "2009-09-01T00:24:16Z")
I thought Mack The Knife’s name _was_ MacHeath. I’m pretty sure Louis Armstrong’s version calls him MacHeath. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/6 "2009-09-01T01:15:48Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > - > > Oh, and the Master speaks! [What’s the story behind “Mack the Knife”? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2155/whats-the-story-behind-mack-the-knife) Actually, _songbird_ speaks, not Cecil. But your post was extremely helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/7 "2009-09-01T01:32:58Z")
[Cecil’s column on concrete shoes.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2824/were-concrete-shoes-a-favored-technique-of-mob-hitmen) Louis Armstrong definitely says “Macheath.” Messer might sound too weird for an English speaking audience; I know the character was called only Macheath in the production I saw at the Roundabout Theatre a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/8 "2009-09-01T01:53:54Z")
Louis Armstrong mentions Lotte Lenya (Kurt Weill’s wife) in the version I usually hear. I have Lotte Lenya’s version of the song, in German, in my iTunes. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/9 "2009-09-01T02:17:24Z")
Bobby Darin also calls him Macheath, in the first stanza. And refers to Lotte Lenya, too. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/10 "2009-09-01T12:23:19Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Bobby Darin also calls him Macheath, in the first stanza. … Second and fifth [too](http://www.bobbydarin.net/macklyrics.html). The fifth could easily be misheard as, _And now MacHeath spends just like a sailor_ _And now Mack he spends just like a sailor_ That and the title could lead to folks that only know Darin’s version\* (and no knowledge of the song’s history) to hear every “MacHeath” as “Mack he”. (\*More accurately Darin’s version/cover of Louis Armstrong’s version using the '54 Blitzstein translation.) CMC fnord! I’m a big fan of the '76 Manheim-Willett translation/version, notably used over the end credits of _Quiz Show_ with Lyle Lovett singing. A nice counterpoint to Darin’s version for the opening credits. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/11 "2009-09-01T12:46:57Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Aha. Thanks! > I knew Mack was a gangster (well, duh…). But I thought the cement was weighing down the \*tugboat \*for some reason that I couldn’t fathom. Too deep for ya? ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/12 "2009-09-01T14:39:26Z")
IIRC Lotte Lenya was in studio with Louis Armstrong when he recorded. She wasn’t **in** the song before that, she’d sung it plenty though. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/13 "2009-09-01T14:46:14Z")
_Just a jacknife has old MacHeath dear and he keeps it out of sight_ ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/14 "2009-09-01T16:55:55Z")
Yes, I’m a thread killer but I’m pointing out that MacHeath is mentioned in mny pop standards. Now I’m going to listen to Lady GaGa ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/15 "2009-09-01T17:11:16Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > Too deep for ya? (Ignoring the pun)…I’d concocted some elaborate explanation involving cement compensating for missing cargo in some kind of smuggling operation. My only knowledge of Lotte Lenya are from the lyrics of this song, and as the nasty Russian agent Rosa Klebb (with the knife in her shoe) in From Russia With Love. An odd juxtaposition… ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/16 "2009-09-01T17:34:01Z")
> [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](#): > > Yes, I’m a thread killer but I’m pointing out that MacHeath is mentioned in mny pop standards. > Now I’m going to listen to Lady GaGa Eh? You just quoted the same song. What other standards mention MacHeath? ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/17 "2009-09-01T18:09:33Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Eh? You just quoted the same song. What other standards mention MacHeath? All of them. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/18 "2009-09-01T18:11:28Z")
> [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](#): > > All of them. Are you confusing standards and stanzas? The line you quoted is from “Mack the Knife,” so of course it’s going to mention MacHeath. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/19 "2009-09-01T18:24:55Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Are you confusing standards and stanzas? The line you quoted is from “Mack the Knife,” so of course it’s going to mention MacHeath. I know the diffeence between standards and stanzas, so I don’t understand what the problem is. I was trrying to show that MacHeath is common in the song. What’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383/20 "2009-09-01T18:25:04Z")
‘Macheath’ is in the original German, in the first stanza. Later on he’s just Mackie. Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne, und sie trägt er ins Gesicht und Macheath, der hat ein Messer, doch das Messer sieht man nicht The composer sang it [like this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QXJ3OXWaOY). Note he’s deliberately rolling his 'r’s and it’s supposed to be a little droning; the Moritat was a sort of tabloid news-style street performance. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife-lyrics-interpretation-please/508383.md?page=2)