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Posts Tagged ‘Bertolt Brecht’

Bob Dylan: “When The Ship Comes In”

Posted: April 10, 2015 in THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Tags: Bertolt Brecht, Bob Dylan, Clinton Heylin, COVER SONGS, David Franklin, Gatorwood Sunshine Singers, i'll no longer shave for you, Joan Baez, Kurt Weill, pirate jenny, Robbie O'Connell, Suze Motolo, The Clancy Brothers, the threepenny opera, the times they are a-changin', Tommy Makem, when the ship comes in

Tune du Jour: “When The Ship Comes In” – Bob Dylan

THE CLASH of Cover Tunes:

David Franklin vs. The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O’Connell with Tommy Makem

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You used to be so amused,
At Broccoli Man,
and the carrot for a guitar he used …

When The Ship Comes In appears on Bob Dylan’s third album, The Times They Are A-Changin’, released in 1964. According to Joan Baez, Dylan wrote When The Ship Comes In in a hotel room, incensed, after the clerk initially denied him a room. The clerk had felt the remarkably unkempt Mr. Dylan was not the type of guest the establishment preferred to accommodate. Baez, who was traveling with Dylan, had to intervene on his behalf, vouching for his “good character”.

According to Dylan’s old girlfriend, Suze Motolo, as well as his biographer, Clinton Heylin, an additional inspiration for the song was probably Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill’s song, Pirate Jenny. Pirate Jenny, from the Threepenny Opera, tells of Jenny’s dark dream of a mysterious ship that arrives to vanquish her foes.

While these suppositions represent the generally accepted beliefs on the origin of the song, in fact, Dylan’s inspiration for When The Ship Comes In was actually the celebrated composition, I’ll No Longer Shave For You, by the criminally underappreciated Gatorwood Sunshine Singers, a tune that, oddly enough, would not be written until decades later.

The Original

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Bob Dylan:

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THE CLASH of Cover Tunes

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David Franklin vs. The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O’Connell with special guest Tommy Makem

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David Franklin:

The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O’Connell with special guest Tommy Makem:

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Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. Only one cover tune will live to play another day and it is your solemn responsibility to decide which one prevails. So tell me … Which Side Are You On?!!?

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Votes can be cast up to three months from the day and time of the original post.

Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.

Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill: “Moritat von Mackie Messer” (subsequently “Mack the Knife”)

Posted: January 25, 2014 in Reigning Pooh-Bah Maximus of Cover Tune, THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Tags: Bertolt Brecht, Bobby Darrin, Die Dreigroschenoper, Ella Fitzgerald, Kurt Gerron, Kurt Weill, Louis Armstrong, Lyle Lovett, Mack the Knife, Moritat, Moritat von Mackie Messer, Nick Cave, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, the threepenny opera

Tune du Jour: “Mack the Knife” – Bobby Darrin

THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Nick Cave vs. Lyle Lovett

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“Free markets will not prevail without unfettered competition among cover songs.” – Milton Friedbyrd

Moritat von Mackie Messer is a song written by Bertolt Brecht and composed by Kurt Weill for their play Die Dreigroschenoper. Die Dreigroschenoper premiered in Berlin in 1928. The opening song, Moritat von Mackie Messer, was originally sung by actor Kurt Gerron.

In 1954 Marc Blitzstein translated Die Dreigroschenoper into English (i.e. The Threepenny Opera) and the play enjoyed a six-year run Off-Broadway. It is Blitzstein’s translation that became the basis for the popularized American song, Mack the Knife.

In 1954, Louis Armstrong was the first musician to score a hit with Mack the Knife. Of course, Bobby Darrin’s Mack the Knife, recorded in 1959, set an unparalleled standard of excellence for the song. Another popular version of Mack the Knife is Ella Fitzgerald’s 1960 live version. After the first verse poor Ella forgot the rest of the song. Yet Ella’s amazing improvisation thereafter earned her a Grammy for the performance.

Die Dreigroschenoper: Moritat von Mackie Messer

Kurt Gerron (1928):

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Mack the Knife

Louis Armstrong (1954):

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Bobby Darrin (1959):

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Ella Fitzgerald (1960):

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THE CLASH of Cover Songs

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Nick Cave vs. Lyle Lovett

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Nick Cave (1995):

Nick Cave holds the distinction of being CMI’s Reigning Exultant Virtuosic Performer of “Mack the Knife“. Additionally, Nick Cave is a recipient of CMI’s universally coveted title of Bi-Victor Melodious Maximus in Adversarial Replication. Among the title’s myriad of rewards and benefits, perhaps most desirous is that it bestows upon the recipient the eminently yearned for privilege of having one’s name appear in print media in orange.

Nick Cave’s triumphal exploits in CMI’s THE CLASH of Cover Tunes competitions are detailed below:

11/9/2013 – “Moritat von Mackie Messer” (Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weil) – Nick Cave (86%) shellacks The Psychedelic Furs (14%)

10/6/2013 – “Suzanne” (Leonard Cohen) – Nick Cave with Perla Batella & Julie Christenson (83%) quash Geoffrey Oryema (17%)

This is shortened version of Nick Cave’s rendition that I included solely for the Caveman’s stellar choreography:

Lyle Lovett (1994):

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Votes can be cast up to seven days from the day and time of the original post.

Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.

Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weil: “Moritat von Mackie Messer” (subsequently “Mack the Knife”)

Posted: November 9, 2013 in THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Tags: Bertolt Brecht, Bobby Darrin, COVER SONGS, Die Dreigroschenoper, Ella Fitzgerald, Kurt Gerron, Kurt Weill, Louis Armstrong, Mack the Knife, Moritat, Moritat von Mackie Messer, Nick Cave, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Psychedelic Furs, the threepenny opera

Broccoli Fields Forever …

Moritat von Mackie Messer is a song written by Bertolt Brecht and composed by Kurt Weil for their play Die Dreigrosohenoper. Die Dreigrosohenoper premiered in Berlin in 1928. The opening song, Moritat von Mackie Messer, was originally sung by actor Kurt Gerron.

In 1954 Marc Blitzstein translated Die Dreigrosohenoper into English (i.e. The Threepenny Opera) and the play enjoyed a six-year run Off-Broadway. It is Blitzstein’s translation that became the basis for the popularized American song, Mack the Knife.