# Mack the Knife **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374 "2003-05-29T21:34:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/1 "2003-05-29T21:34:06Z")
_Mack the Knife_ is so violent! What is up with that song? Does anyone know what it’s supposed to mean? It seems strange that a song that is more violent than most rap music was sung (and VERY popular) such a long time ago. Bits and pieces of the lyrics: "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" What’s up with that? ---
**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:** [May 29, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/2 "2003-05-29T22:09:42Z")
**"Ya know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe** _Sharks are known for violent attacks._ **Scarlet billows start to spread** _When a shark attacks, there is no mistaking it. Massive wounds cause a large loss of blood._ **Fancy gloves, oh, wears old MacHeath, babe** **So there’s never, never a trace of red** _MacHeath, on the other hand, is more stealthy. He covers his tracks, and wearing gloves keeps the blook off of his hands and his fingerprints from getting on the crime scene._ **Now on the sidewalk, huh, huh, whoo sunny morning, un huh** **Lies a body just oozin’ life, eek** _There’s a deader on the pavement._ **And someone’s sneakin’ ‘round the corner** **Could that someone be Mack the Knife?** _Is that “Mac the Knife” sneaking around the corner? Did he do it?_ **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** _The bag of cement is to weight down the body that it is attachetd to._ **Five’ll get ya ten old Macky’s back in town"** _I’ll betcha Mac did it._ ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/3 "2003-05-29T22:21:15Z")
It’s actually from a musical, the Threepenny Opera. It’s the theme of the main character, a womanizing man named Mackie who is quick with his blade. He’s very -very- much an antihero, perhaps even a villain. On the flipside, I seem to remember that there’s really -no one- in the musical that -is- a good, decent person, so take that as you will. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/4 "2003-05-29T23:00:55Z")
**ArrrMatey** is correct. _The Threepenny Opera_ is by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. “Mack the Knife” is the first song, performed by a narrator/prologue type character. It introduces the protagonist as a nasty piece of work who will seduce various girls and kill people throughout the following show. Brechtian theater depends on a “distancing” effect (I forget the term he came up with for it) that asks the audience not to get caught up in the story but to always maintain their objectivity and think about what they’re seeing. Performances of Brecht will often feature written signage, visible costume changes (not naked, you pervs; just a quick switch of hat and jacket or something similar), and other ways to remind the audience of the artificiality of the onstage proceedings. So in adapting the much-older show _The Beggar’s Opera_, Brecht and Weill chose to create a verbal overture that says to the audience, in no uncertain terms, “This play’s hero is an evil man.” Now, how this rather specific bit of theatrical alienation (_that’s the term I was looking for!_ yay memory) got transformed into an innocuous lounge standard… that’s the mystery to me. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/5 "2003-05-29T23:03:58Z")
P.S. By the way, I’ve done this show. I played Readymoney Matt, and I reorchestrated “Pirate Jenny” since the actress had a highly atypical singing range. Based on my work in that show, I was asked to compose a brand-new complete score for a new adaptation of _Mother Courage_ the following year. The point is, other than the reinvention of the tune in question as a Bobby Darin finger-snapper, I know whereof I speak. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/6 "2003-05-29T23:07:30Z")
And keep in mind the song is not sung by the person himself, but by the crowd, in a ‘Uh-Uh, bad guy is back in town’ way. After preview: very good, and congratulations, **Cervaise**. I hadn’t realized you were so talented! Did you study music or theatre? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/7 "2003-05-30T00:13:25Z")
The effect **Cervaise** referred to is the _Verfremdungseffekt_, or V-Effekt for short, and it’s as described. A lot of Weill’s music was intentionally in contrast with the lyrics - the Kanonen-song (about soldiers in India massacring each other) is pretty catchy too. Another thing about “Mack the Knife” in particular is that it’s a _Moritat_, which was a way of singing the news, usually about some murderous deeds. (“Murder Ballad” is a similar English expression, but a _Moritat_ is not exclusively about murder. ) If you ever see the [1931 movie version](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0021818) of the play, the song is sung in a distinctively bland, organ grinder style, the way a _Moritat_ traditionally would have been sung. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/8 "2003-05-30T00:28:33Z")
> [@](#): > > 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 That’s a pretty bowdlerized translation of Brecht’s lyrics. MacHeath is a gangleader, murderer, pimp, and rapist. There’s a bit of double entendre about his “knife.” > [@](#): > > Oh the shark – he has sharp teeth, dear > and he keeps them – in his face. > Old MacHeath has a big knife, dear > Though not in such – an obvious place… > > (Later) > > And the child bride – in her pajamas, > Whose assailant’s – still at large > Violated in her slumbers– > Old Mac, how much did you charge? Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/9 "2003-05-30T00:45:19Z")
Another thing: the song is damn catchy. I think its a rag. The song which is happy and cheerful and under this tale of a murderer, rapist, arsonist, gangster, etc. It was written in 1923 by Germans who were blue also the War, Versailles, and the economy. Brecht and Weill seem to be making the point that no one is looking out for anyone anymore. The words and the music don’t see eye to eye just like people don’t see eye to eye anymore. The Beatles did something similar in the '60s with “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” a song about a hammer murderer that also has a catchy bouncy tune under it. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/10 "2003-05-30T00:49:38Z")
**The Ballad of Mac Tonight (Weill/Ronald McDonald)** When the clock strikes/ Half past six babe It’s time to head for/ Golden light It’s a good time/ For the great taste At McDonald’s/ It’s Mac Tonight! Come on make it right tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Baranlaith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@Baranlaith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baranlaith)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/11 "2003-05-30T02:55:14Z")
Sordid or colorful past. Either way, it’s still a great song. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/12 "2003-05-30T05:24:50Z")
Be really careful if you start tracking down some different versions of this song. Bobby Darin kicks and jams, of course. But Ella Fitzgerald forgets the words (and not in a good way) and the less said about the Frank Sinatra/Jimmy Buffet duet, the better. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/13 "2003-05-30T05:47:28Z")
My favourite will always be the dirge-like original german-lyric version that Ernie Kovacs used (with just an oscilloscope for visuals,) on his indescribably psychedelic 1950’s television program. You know the one. ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/14 "2003-05-30T05:54:34Z")
Am I the only one who at first thought there was a woman named “Liza Body”? ---
**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:** [May 30, 2003, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/15 "2003-05-30T12:51:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Be really careful if you start tracking down some different versions of this song. I think the only version I’ve heard is by Louis Armstrong. ---
**Author:** ![the\_O-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9f8e36/32.png) [@the\_O-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_O-man)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/16 "2003-05-30T13:08:28Z")
On PBS, they aired old episodes of “The Dinah Shore Show” which had a duet between Dinah and Pearl Bailey singing “Mack the Knife.” Pearl was priceless as she provided an explanation of each line in kind of an echo style after Dinah sang it. What a great performer Miss Bailey was, quite expressive and entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/17 "2003-05-30T13:39:16Z")
Bobby Darin. Frank Sinatra. Tony Bennet. These guys were the OG’s (original gangsters). I love gangster rap to no end, but I love the old crooners who sang about (and for) gangsters. They did it with style and flare. Back when being a gangster was about wearing cool suits and hats while you engage in your murderish thugging. Nowadays the gangsters outfits all look like walking adds for Foot Locker clothes. Give me a pinstripe, a crooner crooning, a stiff drink and a loose broad anyday. Earlier this week at a Dj gig I mixed Frank Sinatra into Biggie. Alot of people were kind of like “What the Fuck?” but in my mind the two were of the same cloth just different times and neigborhoods. They are all singing about the same thing. Women, booze, and gangsters. . . ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/18 "2003-05-30T14:35:15Z")
The best version is the one sung, in German, by Lotte Lenya who was married to Weill. That is full of dark menace. BTW Lenya is the lady with knives in her shoes in the James Bond film " From Russia with Love" ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/19 "2003-05-30T14:44:35Z")
That song gives me the frigging creeps. Mack sounds like an American version of Jack The Ripper. ---
**Author:** ![Jerrybear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@Jerrybear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerrybear)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374/20 "2003-05-30T15:35:16Z")
Bob Dylan’s “Oxford Town” is another example of a song in which the lyrics and music are in sharp contrast. The music is fairly upbeat and happy-sounding, but the lyrics are about civil rights activists getting clubbed by Mississippi police circa early 1960s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mack-the-knife/178374.md?page=2)