Alabama song
The Alabama Song , also known as the Whiskey Bar , was first published in Bertolt Brecht's collection of poems Hauspostille in 1927 . The version usually sung today is from the same year and comes from Brecht (text) and Kurt Weill (music)
Emergence
Brecht wrote the poem in 1925, the translation into English was done by Elisabeth Hauptmann . The original setting (as an attachment in the house postil ) comes from Franz S. Bruinier . The Alabama song was set to music by Kurt Weill for the "Songspiel" Mahagonny in 1927 and was also used in the Brecht / Weill opera Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny . The text is in English and is also sung in English in the German version of the opera. In 1930 Lotte Lenya , who also played Jenny on stage, recorded the song.
background
The song is sung in the first act of the opera by Jenny and six girls on their way to Netzestadt. The girls have lost their home and security and see their only chance of survival in selling themselves to the men of Mahagonny. You say goodbye to the moon and with it the hope for a better life, for romantic love and security.
In Jenny's solo part, Weill creates a characteristic change between nostalgic , sad coloratura and rather cynical-sounding chanting .
Cover versions
The best known cover version comes from the band The Doors and was released in 1967 on the album The Doors . Jim Morrison changed the second line from "Show us the way to the next pretty boy" to "Show me the way to the next little girl".
The song was covered by Dave Van Ronk in 1964 . A cover version by David Bowie took over the original line from the house postil "Show us the way to the next whiskey bar", which was changed in the opera to "Show me the way to the next whiskey bar". The British jazz musician Mike Westbrook had the piece regularly in his live repertoire in the 1970s. Other versions come from Bette Midler , Dalida , The Young Gods , Tim Fischer , Abwärts , Johnny Logan , Viza , Guesch Patti & Scorpions , Eric Dolphy & John Lewis , Esther Ofarim , Marianne Faithfull , Milva , Marilyn Manson and Die Toten Hosen . There is also an instrumental version with accordion and singing saw by Otto Lechner with the 1st strict chamber orchestra (1991).
Individual evidence
- ^ Bertolt Brecht: Large commented on Berlin and Frankfurt edition . Suhrkamp 1988-1999, vol. 11 p. 303
Web links
- The English version of the Alabama Song, sung by Lotte Lenya in a 1930 recording on YouTube , accessed July 11, 2019. And 1958 on YouTube , accessed July 11, 2019.
- Lyrics of the "Alabama Song" (Version of the Doors )