alabama song...

Well, show me the way
To the next whiskey bar
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why
Show me the way
To the next whiskey bar
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why
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 goodbye
We've lost our good old mama
And must have whiskey, oh, you know why
Oh, moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We've lost our good old mama
And must have whiskey, oh, you know why
Well, show me the way
To the next little girl
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why
Show me the way
To the next little girl
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why
For if we don't find
The next little girl
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 goodbye
We've lost our good old mama
And must have whiskey, oh, you know why


Alabama Song, aka Next Whiskey Bar, was made most famous by The Doors. it's been sung by many people, including Marilyn Manson. What most people do not know is that it is from an opera composed by Kurt Weill with a libretto written by Bertolt Brecht. It is entitled Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. It was first performed in 1930.

the story is really very interesting in that it deals with vice being the acceptable way of life in the City of Mahagonny [pronounced Ma-ha-GO-nny]. the song is sung by a prostitute named Jenny Smith. she sings it, along with six other girls, as they leave home in alabama searching for whiskey, dollars and pretty boys. she settles in Mahagonny [it's in Florida in the opera], she finds her pretty boy and they lead a life of, well, debauchery. Jimmy, her pretty boy [of the moment] is the lead and runs afoul of the laws of the city. He is hung for not paying his bar bill.

I've seen the opera performed a few times and I really like it. It also helps to understand the historical background. It was written with a backdrop of the upheaval in Germany after WWI and with Hitler beginning his rise to power. It was a very bleak time in Germany with runaway inflation and people looking for an escape to all their troubles.

the story of The Doors recording this song i'll leave to another time. i have a long history with the group and especially Jim Morrison. not a personal history in that i knew them, but a history in how my life developed. as just a little foresight, Jim Morrison is one of my heroes. strange thing to say, i know, but it is true. i did my own version of running away as Jenny did and found my own whiskey bar...

a little curious?

later...