Bertolt Brecht Mac the Knife Lyrics

Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht (born Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht February 10, 1898 – August 14, 1956) was an influential German socialist dramatist, stage director, and poet of the 20th century.

Bertolt Brecht | Mac the Knife Lyrics

These are the lyrics of the song "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife".

The lyrics were originally written in German by Bertolt Brecht for the song composed by Kurt Weill titled "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer". This was for the musical drama "Die Dreigroschenoper", or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. The Threepenny Opera premiered in Berlin, Germany in 1928. "Mac the Knife" has since become a popular song often sung by modern pop artists.

The english words here to Mac the Knife are a literal translation from the German original - there are several other versions released as pop songs.

Mac the Knife Lyrics


And the shark, he has teeth 
And he wears them in his face 
And Macheath, he has a knife 
But the knife you don't see 

On a beautiful blue Sunday 
Lies a dead man on the Strand 
And a man goes around the corner 
Whom they call Mack the Knife 

And Schmul Meier stays missing 
As do some rich men 
And his money has Mack the Knife, 
On whom they can't pin anything. 

Jenny Towler was found 
With a knife in her chest 
And on the wharf walks Mack the Knife, 
Who knows nothing about all this. 

And the minor-aged widow, 
Whose name everyone knows, 
Woke up and was violated 
Mack, what was your price? 

And some are in the darkness 
And the others in the light 
But you only see those in the light 
Those in the darkness you don't see 

But you only see those in the light 
Those in the darkness you don't see

Bertolt Brecht | Credits

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