Mack the Knife – Bobby Darin
Oh the shark, Babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white
Just a jack knife has old MacHeath, Babe
And he keeps it outasight
Ya know when that shark bites with its teeth, Babe
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, though, wears old MacHeath, Babe
So there’s never, never a trace of red
Now on the sidewalk, oooh, Sunday morning, uh-huh
Lies a body just oozing life
And someone’s sneaking ‘round the corner
Could that someone be Mack the Knife
There’s a tugboat down by the river, don’tcha know
Where a cement bag’s justa drooping on down
Oh, that cement is just, its there for the weight, dear
Five’ll get ya ten Ole Macky’s back in town
Now, d’ja hear ‘bout Louie Miller, he disappeared, Babe
After drawing out all his hard earned cash
And now MacHeath spends just like a sailor
Could it be our boy’s done something rash
Now, Jenny Diver, yeah, Sukey Tawdry
Oh, Miss Lottie Lenya and Ole Lucy Brown
Oh, the line forms on the right, Babe
Now that Macky’s back in town
I said Jenny Diver, woah, Sukey Tawdry
Look out to Miss Lottie Lenya, and Ole Lucy Brown
Yes, that line forms on the right, Babe
Now that Macky’s … … back in town
Look out Ole Macky’s back
This tune took a considerable amount of research to pin down. Pilsner MUST be familiar with it, and I’m sure he’ll have many elucidating comments about it. I’ve included it in the “cover songs” section, as Bobby did not come up with this song on his own. As the lyrics suggest, there is a much deeper story going on. This is my only nitpick, because in order to really appreciate this tune, the story surrounding the song must be told. This is a song from the 1928 play titled “The Threepenny Opera” written by Bertolt Brecht in Germany. The opening song, “Die Moritat von Mackie Messer” was adapted by Louis Armstrong into “Mack the Knife” and later gave Bobby Darin his only number one pop single. “The Threepenny Opera” was itself an adaptation of another satire written in 1728 titled “The Beggar’s Opera” by John Gay. The central character in both works is MacHeath, who is an elegant highwayman in Gay’s work, and a violent criminal in Brecht’s work who sees himself as a businessman. The references to the men and women in the Armstrong/Darin songs are from the Threepenny Opera. MacHeath marries Polly Peachum which displeases her father, Jonathan, who controls the beggars of London, and he attempts to get MacHeath hanged. The attempt is complicated by the fact that MacHeath is friends with Tiger Brown, the Chief of Police. Eventually Peachum gets MacHeath to the gallows, but the Queen issues a pardon at the last minute.
