Song Lyrics

Oh, the shark has pretty teeth dear
And he shows 'em, pearly white
Just a jack knife has Macheath dear
And he keeps it way out of sight

When that shark bites with his teeth, dear
Scarlet billows they begin to spread
Fancy white gloves though has Macheath dear
So there's never, never one trace of red

On the sidewalk, one Sunday morning
Lies a body, oozin' life
Someone's sneaking 'round the corner
Could that someone perhaps per chance be Mack the Knife?

From a tugboat, on the river going slow
A cement bag it is dropping on down
Yeah the cement is just for the weight dear
You can make a large bet Mackie's back in town

My man Louis Miller, he split the scene babe
After drawing out all the bread from his stash
Now Macheath spends like a pimp babe
Do you suppose that our boy, he's did something rash

Ah, old Satchmo, Louis Armstrong, Bobby Darrin
They did this song nice, lady Ella too
They all sang it, with so much feeling
That old blue eyes, he ain't gonna add nothing new

But with Quincy's big band, right behind me
Swinging hard, Jack, I now I can't lose
When I tell you, all about Mack the knife babe
It's an offer, you can never refuse

We got George Benson, we got Newman & Foster
We got the Brecker Brothers, and Hampton's bringing up the rear
All these bad cats, and more, are in the band now
They make the greatest sounds, you ever gonna hear

Hey Sookie Taudry, Jenny Diver, Polly Peachum, Old Miss Lulu Brown
Oh the line forms, on the right dear
Now that Macheath, I mean that man Macheath
Yeah he's bad, mercy mercy
Yeah he's badder than old Leroy Brown
You better lock your door, and call the law
Because Macheath's, that bum,
He's back in town

Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, Marc Blitzstein

The duration of Mack the Knife is 4:25 minutes and seconds.