Szerkesztő:Kriszta67/Mack The Knife

"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928. The song has become a popular standard.

Koldusopera

A moritat (from mori meaning "deadly" and tat meaning "deed") is a medieval version of the murder ballad performed by strolling minstrels. In The Threepenny Opera, the moritat singer with his street organ introduces and closes the drama with the tale of the deadly Mackie Messer, or Mack the Knife, a character based on the dashing highwayman Macheath in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. The Brecht-Weill version of the character was far more cruel and sinister, and has been transformed into a modern anti-hero.

The play opens with the moritat singer comparing "Mackie" MacHeath (unfavorably) with a shark, and then telling tales of his robberies, murders, rapes, and arson.

Eredeti német szöveg

The song was inserted in the play shortly before its premiere in 1928, because Harald Paulsen, who created the role of Macheath, wished a more effectful introduction of his character. The original German text is:

German	literal English translation
Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne, Und die trägt er im Gesicht. Und Macheath, der hat ein Messer, Doch das Messer sieht man nicht.	And the shark, he has teeth, And he wears them in his face. And Macheath, he has a knife, But the knife cannot be seen.

1954-es Blitzstein-fordítás

Louis Armstrong Koldusopera, Bicska Maxi (Mack The Knife)
'Kislemez
'	Back O' Town Blues
Megjelent	1956
Formátum	7"
Felvételek	Los Angeles, CA 1955 szeptember, 28.
Stílus	jazz
Hossz	3:25
Kiadó	Columbia 40587 Coronet KS-349
Szerző	Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, English lyrics Marc Blitzstein, arr. Turk Murphy
Sablon • Wikidata • Segítség

In the best known English translation, from the Marc Blitzstein 1954 version of The Threepenny Opera, which introduced the song to English-speaking audiences, the words are:

Oh the shark has pretty teeth dear,

And he shows them pearly white

Just a jack-knife has Macheath dear

And he keeps it out of sight.

This is the version popularized by Louis Armstrong (1956) and Bobby Darin (1959) (Darin's lyrics differ slightly), and most subsequent swing versions. Weill's widow, Lotte Lenya, the star of both the original 1928 German production and the 1954 Blitzstein Broadway version, was present in the studio during Armstrong's recording. He spontaneously added her name to the lyrics, which already named several of Macheath's female victims.

The rarely heard final verse—not included in the original play, but added by Brecht for the 1930 movie—expresses the theme, and compares the glittering world of the rich and powerful with the dark world of the poor:

German	English translation
Denn die einen sind im Dunkeln Und die andern sind im Licht Und man siehet die im Lichte Die im Dunkeln sieht man nicht	There are some who are in darkness And the others are in light And you see the ones in brightness Those in darkness drop from sight

1976-os Manheim-Willett-fordítás

In 1976 the version translated by Ralph Manheim and John Willett opened on Broadway, later made into a movie version starring Raúl Juliá as "Mackie". Here is an excerpt:

See the shark with teeth like razors

All can read his open face

And Macheath has got a knife, but

Not in such an obvious place

This is the version later performed by Sting and Nick Cave. It is also the version performed by Lyle Lovett on the soundtrack of the film Quiz Show (1994)—the same movie features Darin's rendition over the opening credits.

1994-es fordítás

A much darker translation by Robert David MacDonald and Jeremy Sams into English was used for the 1994 Donmar Warehouse theatrical production in London. The new translation attempted to recapture the original tone of the song:

Though the shark's teeth may be lethal

Still you see them white and red

But you won't see Mackie's flick knife

Cause he slashed you and you're dead

Crimes of Macheath

The song attributes many crimes to Macheath:

• A dead man in London, on the Strand
• A rich man, Schmul Meier, disappeared for good and possibly robbed
• Jenny Towler, killed with a knife in the chest
• A cabbie, Alfred Gleet, missing and presumed dead
• Seven children and an old man killed in an arson fire
• Rape of an underage widow (minderjährige Witwe) in her bed

The arson, rape and disappearance of the cabbie were omitted from the original cast recording of the Blitzstein version, but remain intact in the libretto.

A népszerű dal

A Mack the Knife című dalt 1956-ban Louis Armstrong mutatta be az Amerikai Egyesült Államokban , de a dal Bobby Darin előadásában népszerűbb volt, ő a Fulton Stúdióban rögzítette saját verzióját New Yorkban, a West 40th Streeten 1958. december 19-én (Tom Dowd volt a hangmérnöke). 1959-ben Darin verziója első lett a Billboard Hot 100 listán és hatodik a Black Singles listán és Darin Grammy-díjat kapott Az Év Lemeze kategóriában. Dick Clark amerikai üzletember azt javasolta Darinnak, hogy ne rögzítse a dalt, mert az egy operából származik és nem fog tetszeni a rock and rollt szerető közönségnek. Frank Sinatra, aki Jimmy Buffettel rögzítette a dalt, Darin verzióját "eldöntő" verziónak nevezte. Az utóbbi a harmadik helyre került a Billboard All Time Top 100 listán. 2003-ban Darin verziója a 251. helyre került a Rolling Stone magazin Minden idők legjobb 500 dala listán. A BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs műsorában a pop-mogul, Simon Cowell a Mack the Knife című dalt a legjobb dalnak nevezte, amit valaha írtak.

Brecht's original German language version was appropriated for a series of humorous and surreal blackout skits by television pioneer Ernie Kovacs, showing, between skits, the vibrating soundtrack line.

Brecht eredeti német nyelvű verziója

Ella Fitzgerald made a famous live recording in 1960 (released on Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife) in which, after forgetting the lyrics after the first verse, she improvised new lyrics in a performance that earned her a Grammy Award. Robbie Williams also recorded the song on his 2001 album Swing When You're Winning. Other notable versions include performances by Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Tony Bennett, Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave, Brian Setzer, Kevin Spacey, Westlife, and Michael Bublé. Swiss band The Young Gods radically reworked the song in industrial style, while jazz legend Sonny Rollins recorded an instrumental version entitled simply "Moritat" in 1956. A 1959 instrumental performance by Bill Haley & His Comets was the final song the group recorded for Decca Records. Tito Puente also recorded an instrumental version. Salsa musician Rubén Blades recorded an homage entitled "Pedro Navaja." Brazilian composer Chico Buarque, in his adaptation of Threepenny Opera (Ópera do Malandro), made two versions called "A Volta do Malandro" and "O Malandro No. 2", with lyrics in Portuguese.

The song has been put to many other uses. American parodists the Capitol Steps used the tune for their song "Pack the Knife" in their 2002 album When Bush Comes to Shove. In the mid-1980s, fast food giant McDonald's introduced "Mac Tonight", a character whose signature song was based on "Mack the Knife." Comedian Steve Martin famously parodied "Mack the Knife" in his opening monologue to the premiere of Saturday Night Live's third season in 1977.

Selective list of recorded versions

• 1928/29 Bertolt Brecht
• 1954 Gerald Price, Broadway cast recording of The Threepenny Opera
• 1955 Lotte Lenya a Lotte Lenya Sings Berlin Theatre Songs of Kurt Weill című albumon
• 1956 Louis Armstrong #20 hit single

• Dick Hyman, instrumental
• Billy Vaughn, instrumental
• Sonny Rollins, jazz instrumental, on the album Saxophone Colossus

• 1957 Bing Crosby és Bob Scobey a Bing with a Beat című albumon
• 1959 Bobby Darin, U.S. and UK #1

• Bill Haley & His Comets a Strictly Instrumental című albumon
• Kenny Dorham a Quiet Kenny című albumon

• 1960 Ella Fitzgerald az Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife című albumon
• 1964 Miloš Kopecký in Czech musical Lemonade Joe (Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera)
• 1964 Dave Van Ronk a Dave Van Ronk and the Ragtime Jug Stompers című albumon, 1967-ben, a Live at Sir George Williams University című és 1992-ben a Let No One Deceive You című albumokon
• 1965 Ben Webster a Stormy Weather című albumon
• 1968 The Doors a Live In Stockholm című albumon
• 1980 The Psychedelic Furs a 2002-es újra-kiadású self-titled first album című albumon
• 1983 King Kurt az Ooowallahwallah! című albumon, psychobilly version
• 1984 Frank Sinatra a L.A. Is My Lady
• 1985 Sting on the album Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill
• 1986 Dagmar Krause on the album Supply and Demand
• 1988 Ute Lemper on the album Ute Lemper sings Kurt Weill
• 1990 Roger Daltrey on the film soundtrack Mack the Knife
• 1990 Kenny Garrett on the album African Exchange Student
• 1991 The Young Gods on the album The Young Gods Play Kurt Weill
• 1994 Lyle Lovett on the soundtrack to Quiz Show

• Frank Sinatra with Jimmy Buffett on the album Duets II

• 1995 Nick Cave on the album September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill
• 1998 Michael Bublé
• 1999 Max Raabe on the album Die Dreigroschenoper, Ensemble Modern
• 2000 The Brian Setzer Orchestra on the album Vavoom!
• 2001 Robbie Williams on the album Swing When You're Winning
• 2004 Kevin Spacey On the Beyond the Sea soundtrack.
• Tony Bennett
• Jimmie Dale Gilmore
• Dean Martin
• Peggy Lee

Lásd még

• List of 1920s jazz standards
• List of songs banned by the BBC

Külső források

• Bertolt Brecht sings "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer". YouTube (2:48)
• Everything you ever wanted to know about "Mack the Knife"
• Bobby Darin "Mack the Knife" website
• What's the story behind "Mack the Knife"?
• ibdb.com info on the 7 Broadway productions
• Steve Martin's comedy monologue on Saturday Night Live parodying "Mack the Knife"

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