mack the knife

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Nick covered this in a segment in September Songs: A Tribute to Kurt Weill


See the shark with teeth like razors
And he wears them in his face
And Macheath has got a knife
But not in such an obvious place


Now see the shark, how red his fins are
As he slashes at his prey
Mack the Knife wears fancy gloves
Which gives a minimum away


By the Thames' turbid waters
Men abruptly tumble down
Well is it plague, or is it cholera
Or because Macky's in town?


And the child bride, in her nighty
Whose assailant's still at large
Violated in her slumbers
Macky how much did you charge?


In the ghastly fire in Soho
Seven children had a go
In the crowd stands Mack the Knife
But he isn't asked and he don't know


In the crowd stands Mack The Knife
But he ain't asked and he don't know