'Alabama Song' Lotte Lenya & The Three Admirals, Theo Mackeben Die Dreigroschenoper Threepenny Opera

"Alabama Song" is sung by Lotte Lenya & The Three Admirals.

Theo Mackeben is the leader of the jazz ensemble here.

Music was composed by Kurt Weill.

Lyrics are by Bertolt Brecht.

This axiom is attributed to Bertolt Brecht: "Art is not a mirror to reflect reality, but a hammer with which to shape it."

The song was in the 1927 show titled Little Mahagonny.

It was reused in the 1930 opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

The song was recorded by the Doors, David Bowie, and others.

Oh, show us the way to the next whiskey bar
Oh, don't ask why, oh, don't ask why
For we must find the next whiskey bar
For if we don't find the next whiskey bar
I tell you we must die
I tell you we must die
I tell you, I tell you
I tell you we must die

Oh, moon of Alabama
We now must say good-bye
We've lost our good old mamma
And must have whiskey--oh, you know why.

Here is what Chris Freeman wrote about "Alabama Song" in connection with the Doors:

"Good to hear where The Doors got their inspiration for their highly unlikely cover of this great tune. Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek heard this record in his girlfriend Dorothy Fujikawa's record collection. Jim Morrison who was living with them at the time and rest the band listened to it one night when they were all at Ray & Dorothy's apartment for dinner and a jam session / band rehearsal before they recorded their debut album. Ray revamped some of the intervals with his unique keyboard arrangement and Jim really got into the lyric that he edited somewhat without destroying the song. He sang the heck out of it! Robby Krieger's bluesy folksy flamenco influenced guitar and John Densmore's jazz oriented drums all fit right in to do this song justice and The Doors cover of it remains one of the best if not the best cover of the song ever and quite possibly the most well known version ever recorded."