Unless you’re using a liberal translation (i.e. Bobby Darin et al.), Mackie is British (the song refers to a body along the Thames and a fire in Soho). The whole piece is critical of Capitalism, especially as seen in Britain.
Also of interest - in Bobby Darin’s version (I’m pretty sure) he mentions ‘Lotte Lenya’ as one of the victims.
Larry–Where did you get these translations? The German at the end of the first stanza says simply “Doch das Messer sieht man nicht” – “But you don’t [can’t] see the knife.” You can draw from that line that Mackey has a particular KIND of knife as well, but it’s a good deal more subtle an innuendo than a translation involving “obvious place” would indicate. (Also, the translation about blood and gloves is, fairly directly, the second stanza of the German.)
Yes, exactly.
I’ve always seen Darin’s version of being consciously ironic in just this way. It’s as if Weill/Brecht are saying “Look at this evil product of capitalist society” while Darin is saying “Look at this cool, stylin’ guy from capitalist society”.
Nick Cave did a gloriously dastardly version. His gravelly snarl really bit into the song
I’m reminded of the headline from The Onion’s Our Dumb Century:
Yes, he does. But I thought it was about all the women lining up to be his honey now that he has a lot of money and spends it like a sailor:
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.
Whenever I hear that verse, I always think that that would be Lucy’s name in Peanuts if she married Charlie Brown.
And yes, I know how weird that is.
Sonny Rollins and co. do a great job on what he calls Moritat on his Colossus album, recorded in 1956.
Good grief! Then the lyrics would have to be “good old Lucy Brown.”