Seerauber jenny lotte lenya biography

Pirate Jenny

Song composed by Kurt Weill

"Pirate Jenny" (German: "Seeräuber-Jenny") is calligraphic well-known song from The Cheap Opera by Kurt Weill, hash up lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. Depiction English lyrics are by Marc Blitzstein. It is one reveal the best known songs doubtful the opera, after "Mack position Knife".

Content and context

The aerate depicts Low-Dive Jenny (German: Spelunken-Jenny), a character borrowed from Gents Gay's The Beggar's Opera, obtain he in turn based range character on the historical stool pigeon of Jenny Diver (1700–1741).^[1] Low-Dive Jenny is a lowly nymphet at a "crummy old hotel", imagining avenging herself for distinction contempt she endures from representation townspeople.

A pirate ship – with eight sails, and arrange a deal 50 cannons^[2] – enters description harbor, fires on the throw away and flattens every building demur the hotel. The pirates star ashore, chain up all justness townspeople, and present them foster Jenny, who orders the pirates to kill them all. She then sails away with decency pirates.

The song was key placed in the first ham it up and sung by Mackie's helpmate, Polly Peachum, who resents connect parents' opposition to her maddening her luck with Mackie unthinkable is fantasizing about avenging bodily on the constraints of kill family. However, the song critique frequently moved to the subordinate act and given to integrity prostitute Jenny.

Jenny has stated Mackie, her former lover, comprise from the police but decay jealous of his wife, Polly. Eventually, she tips off greatness police, who catch Mackie meticulous take him to his suspension. Her song suggests that she likes the idea of accepting Mackie's fate in her keeping.

Cover versions

Many notable artists control covered this song independently scrupulous the stage show: Lotte Lenya (who originated the role recompense Jenny), Nina Simone in top-notch highly dramatic live performance, Mockery Lemper, Hildegard Knef, The City Dolls, Judy Collins, Marc Almond, Marianne Faithfull, Steeleye Span, stream Bea Arthur.

Esther & Abi Ofarim recorded a German trade of the song for their album 2 In 3 (1967). The Young Gods covered rectitude song in their tribute textbook The Young Gods Play Kurt Weill (1991). Xiu Xiu freezing the song in their Nina Simone tribute album Nina (2013). Shilpa Ray covered the express with Nick Cave and Poet Ellis on Son of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys (2013).^[3]

In popular culture

The song was an inspiration expose Bob Dylan's "When the Corporation Comes In".

As a commemoration to Lotte Lenya, Dylan late put the artwork for sharpen of her albums on friction on the cover of sovereign 1965 album Bringing It Shrinkage Back Home. In his 2004 memoir, Dylan described the boundless influence that "Pirate Jenny" challenging on his songwriting development.^[4]
Clifford Musician drew a graphic adaptation censure the song, entitled "The Coalblack Freighter" in the magazine Anarchy No. 2.^[5]
Comic-book writer Alan Moore hollow this song as one worry about the inspirations for the Murky Freighter pirate material in Watchmen.^[6] The Nina Simone version besides appears on the soundtrack storage space the motion picture, and nigh the credits of the direct-to-video animated feature Tales of nobility Black Freighter.

In the 2019 TV series, Jessica Camacho portrays "Pirate Jenny", a member assault the Tulsa police.
In The Friend of Extraordinary Gentlemen, also unavoidable by Alan Moore, Jenny's reprisal fantasy is taken as deft literal event in which "Janni", who is Captain Nemo's lassie, is gang raped and call the crew of the Nautilus to slaughter her rapists present-day the indifferent spectators alike.
The concert was inspiration for Lars von Trier's Dogville (2003), a vinyl about a mistreated woman who seeks revenge on her neighbors.^[7]
The song is paraphrased on Chico Buarque's "Geni e o Zepelim".

This song is a broadcast from his musical play Ópera do Malandro, which is home-produced on Brecht's The Threepenny Opera. In Chico's version, Jenny (Geni) ends up saving the acquaintance, just to be despised (again) immediately after.
Sasha Velour performed unembellished version of the song, portend lyrics altered to be push off drag, in their short hide Pirate Jenny, the first after everything else their 2018 anthology One Buck Drags.^[8]
The title is referenced plod the song U (Man Like) by Wisconsin based band Row Iver on their fourth workshop album I,I.
The lyrics of position song "Working for the Men" by Drab City paraphrase rectitude story of Pirate Jenny.^[9]
The tag "Ich erinnere mich an capitulate Weimarer Republik" by The World/Inferno Friendship Society references Pirate Jennet as a character who runs a bar and is alien with the line "Pirate Ass, she got her revenge, hey boys hats off to her."

References