INGLÉS SAN MATÍAS CURSO 2022/2023: MACK THE KNIFE Bobby Darin

Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht wrote this song in 1928 for the German play The Threepenny Opera. "Mack" is Macheath, the title character, portrayed as a criminal. The light melody can make this feel like an upbeat song, but it contrasts sharply with the lyrics, which are about a murderer.

Si, la composición original es en alemán.

Darin decided to perform this song when he saw a production of The Threepenny Opera in Greenwich Village in 1958. He thought up his own way of presenting the song, and started performing it in his nightclub act, where it was well received. The song was included on Darin's album That's All, which was released in March 1959. In May of that year, Darin's "Dream Lover" became a huge hit, and demand was building for "Mack The Knife," which was growing increasingly popular thanks to Darin's nightclub performances and sales of the album.

The original German lyrics were far more graphic, making it clear that this is a murderer we're talking about. For American audiences, the translation was more ambiguous to soften the killings, essential in eluding censors in the conservative 1950s.

The original German version of this song is called "Theme from The Threepenny Opera," or "Moritat," which is the German word for "Murder Ballad." The lyrics have been translated in various ways on different versions, but the most popular translation was by the lyricist Marc Blitzstein for the 1954 off-Broadway revival of The Threepenny Opera, which ran until 1961 and played in Greenwich Village, New York.

Lyrics

Darin, however, had a teen idol image to uphold, and a song from the '20s about a murderous sot could derail that train quickly. He was recording for Atlantic Records, who made lots of good decisions, and label boss Ahmet Ertegun ordered it released as a single. Finally, in late August, the single came out and was a massive hit. Whatever teen idol cred Darin scrubbed, he more than made up for in adult appeal, as the song introduced him to an audience that went well beyond "Splish Splash." He became a regular on various TV shows, played a lot of high-end resorts and became the youngest headliner at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, where he was once a busboy. The song's success also earned him a second spot on The Ed Sullivan Show, where he made a total of six appearances.

The translated lyrics from the production are what Louis Armstrong used in his 1956 version of the song and most of what Darin used in his.

The BBC Radio 4 program, Ella in Berlin, recalled a famous concert appearance by Ella Fitzgerald in February 1960 in Berlin when the American performed this song for the first time.

Ella had learned the words on the plane from Stockholm, but halfway through her performance, she forgot the lyrics and began to improvise exuberantly in rhyme. The Queen of Jazz never missed a beat, making it clear she was making it up as she went along:

Oh what's the next chorus, to this song, now
This is the one, now I don't know
But it was a swinging tune and it's a hit tune
So we tried to do Mack the Knife

Oh Bobby Darin and Louis Armstrong
They made a record, oh but they did
And now Ella, Ella, and her fellas
We're making a wreck, what a wreck of Mack the Knife

It may have been a wreck, but the crowd loved it - many in the audience didn't speak English anyway. Released as a single, this was the last version of the song to chart, coming in at #27 in June

Jimmy Buffett sang this as a duet with Frank Sinatra for Sinatra's 1994 Duets II album. The two didn't share a studio session, though. Like the other duets on the album, Buffett's part was added to Sinatra's already recorded vocals.

LYRICS

MACK THE KNIFE Canción de Bobby Darin

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

Robbie Williams Live at The Royal Albert

VOCABULARY

Billow noun /ˈbiləu/ literary .- a large wave = oleada

Fancy adjective UK /ˈfæn·si/ .- expensive and fashionable = elegante Ex.- a fancy restaurant

Fancy adjective UK /ˈfæn·si/ .- complicated or having a lot of decoration = sofisticado Ex.- That dress is too fancy for a little girl.

Fancy adjective UK /ˈfæn·si/ .- comparative fancier | superlative fanciest.- expensive and of high quality = caro/ra , lujoso/sa

Fancy verb UK informal .- to want to have or do something = tener ganas de Ex.- Do you fancy a drink?

Fancy verb UK informal .- to feel sexually attracted to someone = sentirse atraído por Ex.-I fancied him the first time I saw him.

Trace verb UK /treɪs/ .- to find someone or something that was lost = localizer Ex.- Police are trying to trace the missing woman.

Trace noun UK /treɪs/ .- proof that someone or something was in a place = rastro Ex.- There was no trace of her anywhere.

Ooze verb UK /uːz/ .- If a liquid oozes from something, it comes out slowly. = rezumar Ex.- Blood was oozing out of the wound.

Ooze verb UK /uːz/ .- informal .- to show a lot of a quality = rebosar Ex.- He oozes charm.

Sneak verb UK /sniːk/ .- to go somewhere quietly because you do not want anyone to hear you = ir sigilosamente Ex.- I sneaked into his bedroom while he was asleep.

Sneak verb UK /sniːk/ .-past, past participle sneaked(snuck) .- to move somewhere quietly so that people do not notice you = ir a hurtadillas, andar con sigilo, moverse sigilosamente Ex.- They sneaked past the doorway and up the stairs. (Se movieron sigilosamente por la puerta y subieron las escaleras.)

tug-boat noun .- a small boat with a very powerful engine, for towing larger ships. = remolcador

rash adjective UK /ræʃ/ .- done suddenly and without thinking carefully = precipitado = It was a rash decision.

La siguiente versión está interpretada por el granadino Miguel Rios, en español.

Por último, como curiosidad, dos interpretaciones de la composición original en alemán. Una interpretada por Sting y otra corresponde a la parte representada de The Threepenny Opera.

Los comentarios sobre esta canción se han recogido en la siguiente dirección

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/bobby-darin/mack-the-knife

Aclarando la historia de la canción.... obtenida del blog:

https://chelseahotel.blog/mack-the-knife/

MACK THE KNIFE

Louis Armstrong

Nace el dramaturgo Bertolt Brecht (1898)

Mack the Knife tiene una historia tan larga y accidentada como la que cuenta la propia canción. La primera vez que apareció este personaje de este tema fue en La Ópera del Mendigo, una obra escrita por John Gay en 1728 y protagonizada por un bandolero llamado Macheath. Pero no fue hasta dos siglos más tarde, cuando el dramaturgo alemán Bertolt Brecht decidió hacer su adaptación, que el relato de la vida de este criminal empezó a popularizarse.

Brecht la tituló La Ópera de los Tres Centavos y, en colaboración con el compositor Kurt Weill, actualizó el guión y la música para convertirla en una crítica marxista del mundo capitalista. Al personaje de Macheath le mantuvo el nombre, pero le dió el apodo de Mackie Messer (Mackie, el Navaja) a la vez que lo presentaba como más cruel y siniestro que el original.

Pocos días antes del estreno, en agosto de 1928, el actor que hacía el papel protagonista pidió que le hicieran una canción de presentación del personaje para suavizar su entrada en escena. Como respuesta a esta petición, le escribieron un «moritat», una balada de origen medieval que hasta principios del S.XIX se utilizaba para relatar las fechorías de un criminal. Brecht se encargó de la letra, que en boca de un cantante callejero, repasaba todo el historial delictivo de Macheath. Y sobre ella, Weill compuso una única melodía de dieciséis compases que se iba repitiendo a lo largo de todo el tema.

El musical y su posterior versión cinematográfica fueron un éxito. Pero este tema introductorio que todo el mundo conocía ya como Mackie Messer todavía lo fue más. Tanto, que acabó convirtiéndose en una de las piezas más interpretadas en los cabarets del Berlín de entreguerras. No obstante, con la llegada del nazismo, Weill y Brecht tuvieron que huir de Alemania y la canción quedó en el olvido durante más de dos décadas.

En su exilio, Kurt Weill se había instalado en Nueva York con su mujer. Allí la pareja coincidió con Marc Blitzstein, un compositor que admiraba mucho la obra de Weill y Brecht. Así que cuando el primero de ellos murió en 1950, Blitzstein decidió coger los temas de La Ópera de los Tres Centavos y hacer la adaptación al inglés. La obra se estrenó a los cuatro años con un éxito de taquilla discreto. Pero el azar quiso que a una de las representaciones asistiera el productor discográfico George Avakian, que rápidamente se dio cuenta de que aquel «moritat» que Blitzstein ya había rebautizado como Mack the Knife tenía un gran potencial como canción instrumental de jazz. La ofreció a varios artistas reconocidos pero nadie quería hacerla. Hasta que la propuesta llegó a Louis Armstrong. El músico se entusiasmó tanto con el tema que, aparte de tocarlo con la trompeta, también lo quiso cantar.

La versión de Armstrong se convirtió en la base a partir de la cual numerosos artistas han hecho sus propias versiones del tema. La más aclamada fue la de Bobby Darin que, en 1959, la llevó a lo más alto de las listas de éxitos. Pero también la interpretaron Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald o Frank Sinatra, que al final de su carrera a menudo la utilizaba como canción de cierre de sus conciertos. En el mundo latino, el músico panameño Rubén Blades fue quien hizo la versión en español con un Pedro Navaja delinquiendo a ritmo de salsa.

Como siempre, a continuación tienes algunas direcciones de videos ya que hay veces que no se pueden ver los incluidos arriba.

Bobby Darin "Mack The Knife" on The Ed Sullivan Show. Subt. Español.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=557lFG-qq5g

https://youtu.be/557lFG-qq5g

Bobby Darin - Mack the Knife (Lyrics On-Screen and in Description)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8iPUK0AGRo

https://youtu.be/h8iPUK0AGRo

Mack the Knife by Louis Armstrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ULUQgxJ5M

https://youtu.be/28ULUQgxJ5M

Mack The Knife - Robbie Williams Live at The Royal Albert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpkCazstUhM