It's an odd thing that the lyric of the most popular and best selling record of 1959 was written by that most Communist of poets, Bertolt Brecht.

Mack the Knife

Oh, the shark has pretty teeth, dear
And he shows them pearly white.
Just a jack knife has Macheath, dear
And he keeps it out of sight.
When the shark bites with his teeth, dear
Scarlet billows start to spread.
Fancy gloves, though, wears Macheath, dear
So there's not a trace of red.

On the side-walk Sunday morning
Lies a body oozing life;
Someone's sneaking 'round the corner.
Is that someone Mack the Knife?
From a tugboat by the river
A cement bag's dropping down;
The cement's just for the weight, dear.
Bet you Mackie's back in town.
Louie Miller disappeared, dear
After drawing out his cash;
And Macheath spends like a sailor.
Did our boy do something rash?
Sukey Tawdry, Jenny Diver,Polly Peachum, Lucy Brown
Oh, the line forms on the right, dear
Now that Mackie's back in town.
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It's from the THREE PENNY OPERA which was filmed in 1931 by G.W.Pabst. Watch those gorgeous tracking shots. Stanley Kubrick sure did I was thinking while watching FULL METAL JACKET the other night.
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