Song Lyrics in German and English

Hildegard Knef: “Seeräuber-Jenny” - English

Songs by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill

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Hildegard Knef Songs > “Seeräuber-Jenny” > English Versions

NOTE: The original German song lyrics are provided for educational use only. No infringement of copyright is implied or intended. - This English translation by Marc Blitzstein is an "official" English version, the one most often used by those who sing the English lyrics. Also see a literal translation of the "Pirate Jenny" lyrics.

Song Background
This classic Bertolt Brecht song (with music by Kurt Weill) is from Die Dreigroschenoper, which was first performed in Berlin in 1928. The song "Pirate Jenny" is just one of several popular tunes from The Threepenny Opera. Marc Blitzstein wrote an English adaptation of The Threepenny Opera in 1954. The Austrian-born Lotte Lenya (Weill's wife) appeared in that off-Broadway production (and in the original Berlin production). [Note: Bertolt Brecht's (1898-1956) lyrics are an adaptation of Elisabeth Hauptmann's German translation of John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera."]

See our CD page for links to Knef's music on CD and as streaming RealAudio.

“Pirate Jenny” - “Seeräuber-Jenny” -

NOTE: This is the Marc Blitzstein English translation of 1954, which is the version most often sung in English. For a literal translation of the original German.

Lyrics: Bertolt Brecht/Marc Blitzstein
Melody: Kurt Weill

1
You people can watch while I'm scrubbing these floors
And I'm scrubbin' the floors while you're gawking
Maybe once ya tip me and it makes ya feel swell
In this crummy Southern town, in this crummy old hotel
But you'll never guess to who you're talkin'.
No. You couldn't ever guess to who you're talkin'.
Then one night there's a scream in the night
And you'll wonder who could that have been
And you see me kinda grinnin' while I'm scrubbin'
And you say, "What's she got to grin?"
I'll tell you.

There's a ship, the black freighter
with a skull on its masthead
will be coming in.

2
You gentlemen can say, "Hey gal, finish them floors!
Get upstairs! What's wrong with you! Earn your keep here!
You toss me your tips
and look out to the ships
But I'm counting your heads
as I'm making the beds
Cuz there's nobody gonna sleep here, honey
Nobody! Nobody!
Then one night there's a scream in the night
And you say, "Who's that kicking up a row?"
And ya see me kinda starin' out the winda
And you say, "What's she got to stare at now?"
I'll tell ya.

There's a ship, the black freighter
turns around in the harbor
shootin' guns from her bow

3
Now you gentlemen can wipe that smile off your face
'Cause every building in town is a flat one
This whole frickin' place will be down to the ground
Only this cheap hotel standing up safe and sound
And you yell, "Why do they spare that one?"
Yes, that's what you say.
"Why do they spare that one?"
All the night through, through the noise and to-do
You wonder who is that person that lives up there?
And you see me stepping out in the morning
Looking nice with a ribbon in my hair.

And the ship, the black freighter
runs a flag up its masthead
and a cheer rings the air

4
By noontime the dock is a-swarmin' with men
comin' out from the ghostly freighter
They move in the shadows where no one can see
And they're chainin' up people and they're bringin' em to me
askin' me, "Kill them NOW, or LATER?"
Askin' ME! "Kill them now, or later?"
Noon by the clock
and so still by the dock
You can hear a foghorn miles away
And in that quiet of death
I'll say, "Right now.
Right now!"
Then they'll pile up the bodies
And I'll say,
"That'll learn ya!"

And the ship, the black freighter
disappears out to sea
And on it is me.

> Literal English Translation
> Original German Version

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