Five’ll Get Ya Ten

Today’s theme at Song Lyric Sunday is all about songs
that have been preserved in the National Recording Registry.

The National Recording Registry is a list of audio recordings selected for preservation by the head of the U.S. Library of Congress in consultation with the National Recording Preservation Board. Every year, 25 recordings that are deemed to be, in the words of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” are added to the registry. The selections include music, speeches, radio broadcasts, interviews, audiobooks, podcast episodes, and other recorded sounds. To be eligible for inclusion on the registry, a recording must be at least 10 years old.

The instant I saw my featured song listed in the National Recording Registry, I stopped looking. Being one of my top five favorite songs, it was pointless to go any further.

My song choice for today’s theme is “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin. The song tells the story of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld along with a few prostitutes, some other colorful characters, missing money and cement bags (for the weight, naturally).

Released in 1959 by Bobby Darin, “Mack the Knife” was originally written in 1928 for Die Dreigroschenoper (Threepenny Opera), the German “play with music” composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. But the history of “Mack the Knife” begins long before Brecht and Weill wrote the song. Their inspiration goes all the way back to 1728, to a British play called “The Beggar’s Opera” written by John Gay to mock the ruling classes. And Gay had some good precedents for the idea of writing an opera with a violent thief as the protagonist. After all, the Brits had already seen satirical anti-heroes ranging from Shakespeare’s Richard III to John Milton’s fabulously dangerous Satan in “Paradise Lost”. 

When Brecht and Weill had great success with their German opera in the 1930s, people said it was an amazing play for the period – the pair of socialists successfully satirized serious enemies (like the Nazis, who banned the play in 1933) and made some sharp political points for their time. But a full 30 years later, Bobby Darin’s version of “Mack the Knife” became the most popular song in the U.S. – a jazzy little serial-killer socialist-opera ditty at the top of the charts.

Bobby Darin’s version of “Mack The Knife” is undoubtedly the most famous hit …. a cool, finger-snapping song about the notorious killer, thief and arsonist, MacHeath (AKA Mack the Knife). Bobby’s recording became a #1 hit in the US and UK and earned him two Grammy Awards – one for Record of the Year and another for Best New Artist. Bobby Darin was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of fame in 1990 and also won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

“Mack the Knife” is the 14th most popular song in Billboard Hot 100 history and was ranked #255 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2015. And it appears prominently on my playlist.

Here is the one and only Bobby Darin with the iconic “Mack The Knife”.

Lyrics

Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white
Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe
And he keeps it, ah, out of sight
You 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 don’tcha 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
Now did ya hear ’bout Louie Miller? He disappeared, babe
After drawin’ out all his hard-earned cash
And now MacHeath spends just like a sailor
Could it be our boy’s done somethin’ rash?

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

I said Jenny Diver, whoa, Sukey Tawdry
Look out to Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown
Yes, that line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky’s back in town
Look out, old Macky’s back

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill/Marc Blitzstein
Mack the Knife lyrics © ACUM Ltd., BMG Rights Management, Reservoir Media Management, Inc, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

NB: Our friend Macky was a multi-tasking criminal … thief, arsonist, murderer, pimp; Jenny Diver, Lucy Brown and Suky Tawdry were all prostitutes. Lotte Lenya was in reality the wife of the composer, Kurt Weill and her name was attached to a character in an off-Broadway production. Louie Miller represents a would-be client of one of the prostitutes, who is murdered by MacHeath after drawing out money.

This is a clip from the “Threepenny Opera” movie featuring “Mack The Knife” in its original German .… quite a startling contrast to Bobby Darin’s version.

And just for fun, there’s this. I love these guys:

Preserving American Music

Big thanks to Jim for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday and offering up a terrific theme this week; it gave me the opportunity to feature one of my greatest musical idols who I have admired and respected for more than 60 years.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

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