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can someone PLEASE tell me what this song is about.
i LOVE this song but its the most random lyrics i've heard in a while

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.

Ya know when that shark bites, with his teeth, babe
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, though, wears old MacHeath, babe
So there’s nevah, nevah a trace of red.

Now on the sidewalk … uuh, huh … whoo … sunny mornin’ … uuh, huh
Lies a body just oozin' life … eeek!
And someone’s sneakin' ‘round the corner
Could that someone be Mack the Knife?

A-there's a tugboat … huh, huh, huh … down by the river don’tcha know
Where a cement bag’s just a'droopin' 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, d'ja 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.

Aah … 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 is back!!

   

but its such a great song and i HATE that it doesn't make sense to me

   

Mack the Knife is about a hitman.

   

really?

   

Yes, really.

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.

MacHeath is his name and he uses a jack knife (a folding knife)to kill people up close and personal instead of using a gun. This makes him a very, very dangerous killer.


Ya know when that shark bites, with his teeth, babe
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, though, wears old MacHeath, babe
So there’s nevah, nevah a trace of red.

MacHeath wears 'fancy' gloves that keep the blood off of his hands.

Now on the sidewalk … uuh, huh … whoo … sunny mornin’ … uuh, huh
Lies a body just oozin' life … eeek!
And someone’s sneakin' ‘round the corner
Could that someone be Mack the Knife?

A stabbing victim lies dying on the sidewalk and MacHeath is sneaking away from the scene of the scrime.

A-there's a tugboat … huh, huh, huh … down by the river don’tcha know
Where a cement bag’s just a'droopin' 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.

MacHeath also uses bags of cement to weight down bodies he dumps into the water, perhaps he uses the tugboat to take the corpses out to sea where he dumps them.

Now, d'ja 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?

Louie Miller went missing after giving his money to MacHeath. Maybe it was blackmail or maybe he paid MacHeath for a killing. In any case, MacHeath is spending Louie's money.

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.

Aah … 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 …

This is pretty incomprehensible, but given the context of the song it appears to be a list of his victims.

Hope that all helps.

   

Wiki confirms the same and there's a great article with the translation from the original German lyrics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_knife

And the shark, he has teeth
And he wears them in his face
And Macheath, he has a knife
But the knife one doesn'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 man
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 big fire in Soho
Seven children and an old man
In the crowd was Mackie Messer
Who one doesn't ask and who knows nothing.

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

Refrain
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

   

wow! you go, Bart!

   

you are the best bart!

   

Thank you both!

I've always enjoyed that song and knew the libretto was about a hitman but hadn't researched until now. Thank you for making me go learn something!

   

I'm good at that


i make other people learn and then get them to tellme the answer
lol

   

HA! I love that song. Old blue eyes runs that song!

   

I forgot about it till i downloaded a bunch of michael buble stuff today

   

For me, it's the Louis Armstrong version that I like the best.

Another one I have is by Ella Fitzgerald at a live show.
She forgot the lyrics and just improvised as only she can do.

   

Im quite familiar with this piece. A friend of mine did an interpretation of it for grade 11 english a few years ago. He even sang it, which I think is the reason he passed that class. Every time I hear that song now I think about the play associated with it and the story.

   

it really has become one of my favorite songs

   

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