The "Alabama Song"—also known as "Moon of Alabama", "Moon over Alabama", and "Whisky Bar"—is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

version of a song written by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

and translated from German by his close collaborator

Elisabeth Hauptmann Elisabeth Hauptmann (20 June 1897, Peckelsheim, Westphalia, German Empire – 20 April 1973, East Berlin) was a German writer who worked with fellow German playwright and director Bertolt Brecht. She got to know Brecht in 1922, the same year she ...

in 1925 and set to music by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

for the 1927 play '' Little Mahagonny''. It was reused for the 1930 opera '' Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'' and has been recorded by

the Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Original version

The "Alabama Song" was written as a German poem and translated into idiosyncratic English for the author

by his close collaborator

in 1925 and published in Brecht's 1927 '' Home Devotions'' (german: Hauspostille), a parody of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

's collection of sermons. It was set to music by

for the 1927 play '' Little Mahagonny'' (') and reused for Brecht and Weill's 1930 opera '' Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'' ('), where it is sung by Jenny and her fellow prostitutes in Act I. Although the majority of all three works is in German, the "Alabama Song" retained Hauptmann's broken English lyrics throughout. Brecht and Weill's version of the song was first performed by the

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

actress and dancer

Lotte Lenya Lotte Lenya (born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer; 18 October 1898 – 27 November 1981) was an Austrian-American singer, diseuse, and actress, long based in the United States. In the German-speaking and classical music world, she is best ...

, Weill's wife, in the role of Jessie at the 1927 Baden-Baden Festival's performance of ''Little Mahagonny''. The first recording of the song—by Lenya for the Homocord record label—came out in early 1930 under the title "Alabama-Song"; it was rerecorded the same year for the Ultraphon record label for release with the 1930

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

premiere of ''The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'', despite Lenya not being a member of that cast. She continued to perform and record the song throughout her life, including for her 1955 album ''Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill'' ('), released in the United States under the title ''Berlin Theater Songs''..

The Doors version

The song was recorded in 1966 by the rock group

, listed as "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)". According to drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger, the song was presented by keyboardist

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the Doors, co-founding the band with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison in 1965. Manzarek was induct ...

to the group while recording their debut album, and after the other members were dissatisfied with the melody, they changed it. Doors' cover version combine

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

, carnival music influences, with

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

stylistics. Lead singer Jim Morrison reportedly altered the second verse from "Show us the way to the next pretty boy" to "Show me the way to the next little girl", but, on the 1967 ''Live at the Matrix'' recording, he sang the original unaltered "next pretty boy". For the Doors' recording, Ray Manzarek also contributed Marxophone along with organ and keyboard bass.

Personnel

Per sources: * Jim Morrison – lead vocals * Robby Krieger – guitar, backing vocals *

– organ, keyboard bass, marxophone, backing vocals * John Densmore – drums, backing vocals *

Paul A. Rothchild Paul Allen Rothchild (April 18, 1935 – March 30, 1995) was a prominent American record producer of the 1960s and 1970s, widely known for his historic work with the Doors, producing Janis Joplin's final album ''Pearl'' and mid-60s production of ...

– backing vocals

David Bowie version

Bowie, a Brecht fan, incorporated the song into Isolar II, his 1978 World Tour. He cut a version at

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

’s studio after the European leg of the tour, and in 1980 it was issued as a single to hasten the end of Bowie’s contract with RCA. With unconventional key changes, the track "seemed calculated to disrupt any radio programme on which it was lucky enough to get played". Nevertheless, backed with a stripped-down acoustic version of "

Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album ''David Bowie''. After the commercial f ...

" recorded in December 1979, the single reached No. 23 in the UK. Although Bowie also changed the "pretty boy" line like Morrison, he sang Weill's original melody. Bowie would appear in a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

version of Brecht's ''

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...

'', and release an EP of songs from the play. He performed "Alabama Song" again on his 1990 Sound+Vision Tour and 2002

Heathen __NOTOC__ Heathen or Heathens may refer to: Religion *Heathen, another name for a pagan *Heathen, an adherent of Heathenry Music *Band of Heathens, a North American rock and roll band *Heathen (band), a North American thrash metal band *The Hea ...

tours. A concert performance recorded in spring 1978 during the Isolar II Tour was released as a bonus track on the Rykodisc reissue of Bowie's live album '' Stage'' in 1991 and on the 2005 reissue of that album.

Other releases

* It was released as the B-side of the Japanese single " Crystal Japan" in February 1980. * The German release of the single " Ashes to Ashes" in August 1980 had "Alabama Song" as the B-side. * In 1992 it was released as a bonus track on the Rykodisc reissue of '' Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)''. * It appeared on the compilation '' The Singles Collection'' in 1993 and on ''

The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987 ''The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987'' is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The CD was originally released by EMI as part of '' The Platinum Collection'' in 2005/2006. The 2007 release is part of EMI's two-disc ''Sigh ...

'' in 2005. * It was included on ''Re:Call 3'', part of the ''

A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) ''A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 29 September 2017. A follow-up to the compilations ''Five Years (1969–1973)'' and ''Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'', the set c ...

'' boxed set, in 2017.

References in popular culture

* The lyric "Show me the way to the next whisky bar" is written on the wall of the men's restroom in the TV show ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

''; it can be seen in episode 9 of Season 1 "Coach Returns to Action". * In 2013, The Doors' version of the song made an appearance in Simon Pegg and

Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a ...

's collaborative finale to the ''

Cornetto Trilogy The ''Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy (also sometimes referred to as the ''Cornetto'' trilogy or the ''Blood and Ice Cream'' trilogy) is an anthology series of British comedic genre films directed by Edgar Wright, written by Wright and Simon ...

'', '' The World's End''. *

Galgalatz Galgalatz or GLGLZ ( he, גלגלצ) is an Israeli radio station, operated by Israel Defense Forces Radio. This is the second of two Israel Defense Forces-operated stations, while the first one is Israel Defense Forces Radio/Galatz. The station ...

plays this song every Friday just before

midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

. * The Watergate Hotel lobby whisky bar is named after this song. * In the internet horror game

Sad Satan ''Sad Satan'' is a PC game first reported on the YouTube channel ''Obscure Horror Corner'' on June 25, 2015. Following initial reviews, the channel's video of the game was picked up by a number of English-language publications and, later, inter ...

, a slowed down version of this song can be heard in the background at some points which may cause the listener to feel nauseous while it plays. * The political commenter Billmon named his blog ''Whiskey Bar'' quoting the song. When he closed the comments, his followers created another blog named ''Moon of Alabama''.

Selective list of recorded versions

The song has been covered often: * Jazz musicians

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...

and John Lewis recorded ''Mack the Knife and Other Berlin Theatre Songs of Kurt Weill'', an album of Kurt Weill tunes in 1964. "Alabama Song" was performed by a band consisting of Dolphy on

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

, Lewis on piano,

Nick Travis Nick Travis (b. Nov. 16, 1925, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - d. Oct. 7, 1964, New York City) was an American jazz trumpeter. Travis started playing professionally at age 15, playing in the early 1940s with Johnny McGhee, Vido Musso (1942), Mit ...

on trumpet, Mike Zwerin on trombone, Richard Davis on double bass, and

Connie Kay Conrad Henry Kirnon (April 27, 1927 – November 30, 1994) known professionally as Connie Kay, was an American jazz and R&B drummer, who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Self-taught on drums, he began performing in Los Angeles in the mid ...

on drums. The solo order is trombone, piano, and bass clarinet. Zwerin asked Dolphy to "play what efelt about Alabama". *

The Mitchell Trio The Chad Mitchell Trio, later known as The Mitchell Trio, were an American vocal group who became known during the 1960s. They performed traditional folk songs and some of John Denver's early compositions. They were particularly notable for perf ...

on ''The Slightly Irreverent Mitchell Trio'' in 1964 *

Dave Van Ronk David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mac ...

(of the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

folk movement), in 1964 and 1992. * Jacques Higelin, a French singer, covered the song with Catherine Sauvage, on his LP devoted to

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sulliva ...

in 1966 (French lyrics by Boris Vian) *

Mike Westbrook Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook. Early work Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...

featured the song in performances of his Brass Band in the 1970s, with lyrics by his wife Kate. *

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

. The song was included in a medley in her 1977 live show and double album '' Live at Last''. *

Abwärts Abwärts ("Downwards") is a German post-punk band from Hamburg. Members FM Einheit and Mark Chung would leave the group in the early 1980s to join West Berlin band Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experiment ...

, the song featured in the 1980 EP ''Computerstaat'' the German punk band. * Dalida, the song was covered by the French chanteuse in English during the 1980s. She changed the lyrics in verses to "Show me the way to the next little dollar" and "For if we don't find the next petit dollar." *

Električni Orgazam Električni Orgazam ( sr-cyr, Електрични Оргазам, lit=Electric Orgasm, translit=) is a Serbian rock band from Belgrade. Originally starting as a combination of new wave, punk rock and post-punk, the band later slowly changed th ...

recorded a version on their 1982 album ''Lisce Prekriva Lisabon''. * Nina Simone, on her 1987 album '' Live At Ronnie Scott's'', recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London in 1984. * It was covered by

Ralph Schuckett Ralph Schuckett (March 2, 1948 – April 4, 2021) was an American keyboardist, composer and songwriter known as one of the founding members of Todd Rundgren's band Utopia. He composed for film and television, including Pokémon, Sonic X, and A ...

with Richard Butler,

Bob Dorough Robert Lrod Dorough (December 12, 1923 – April 23, 2018) was an American bebop and cool jazz vocalist, pianist, composer, songwriter, arranger, and producer. Dorough became famous as the composer and performer of songs in the TV series ''School ...

Ellen Shipley Ellen Shipley (born March 24, 1949 in New York City, New York, United States) is an American musician and songwriter. Career At sixteen years old, Shipley got a NYC Cabaret license. She performed a duo act in Greenwich Village in the early 70's ...

and John Petersen on the

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

'' Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill''. * Moni Ovadia, the Italo-Bulgarian actor, in 1997, included the song in his album ''Ballata di fine millennio'' *

Ute Lemper Ute Gertrud Lemper (; born 4 July 1963) is a German singer and actress. Her roles in musicals include playing Sally Bowles in the original Paris production of ''Cabaret'', for which she won the 1987 Molière Award for Best Newcomer, and Velma ...

in 1991: ''Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill'' * The Young Gods covered it on their 1991 release ''

The Young Gods Play Kurt Weill ''Play Kurt Weill'' is a cover album released by Swiss Industrial band The Young Gods. The album comprises interpretations of pieces by German composer Kurt Weill. The band played the entire track list during the Kurt Weill tribute concert in Swi ...

'', with the lyrics "Show us the way to the next little girl". * Big John Bates covered it as a duet on their 2019 Skinners Cage LP with upright bass, violin, guitar and drums, omitting "show us the way to the next little girl" to reflect the change in modern sensibilities. * Marianne Faithfull performed this song (along with several other Brecht/Weill songs) live on her ''20th Century Blues'' album released in 1996. * David Johansen covered the song on a compilation of Kurt Weill's music entitled '' September Songs – The Music of Kurt Weill'', released in 1997. *

eX-Girl eX-Girl is a Japanese female noise rock trio. Overview They claim to hail from the planet Kero Kero. They are described as psychedelic, space rock, jazz fusion, jagged alternating vocal harmonies, sugary synthesiser pop, punk, prog, epic/atmosph ...

covered, the song on the album ''

Big When Far, Small When Close ''Big When Far, Small When Close'' is the third studio album by Japanese band eX-Girl, released on the PARANOIZ label in Japan (PAR-50024), and by KIKI Poo Records in the US (KPCD-001). The line-up consisted of Chihiro, Kirilo and Fuzuki, and th ...

'' in 2000. * Kazik Staszewski covered the song by interpreting the lyrics and adding a new verse. Moreover, the song was performed in

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

style. The song was published on the album ''Melodie Kurta Weill'a i coś ponadto'' (''The Melodies of Kurt Weill and Something More'') released in 2001. *

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

recorded the song on an album '' This Is New'' in 2002. *

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

covered the song live in a show in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 2003. *

The Bobs The Bobs were an a cappella vocal group founded in San Francisco, California in the early 1980s. They moved to Seattle, Washington and were active recording and touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe until their farewell show a ...

, an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

quartet, recorded an arrangement of the song on their 2005 album ''Rhapsody in Bob''. * Arthur H. and

Jeanne Cherhal Jeanne Cherhal is a French singer-songwriter. Life and career After spending her younger years in Erbray near Châteaubriant, Cherhal studied philosophy before moving to Paris. She started her singing career playing piano – solo, or accompa ...

also covered the song live in 2007 at the Muzik'Elles festival in Meaux. The cover was performed in English. * Max Raabe and Palast Orchester performed the song live (as "Moon of Alabama"), albeit only its first verse and the chorus, recorded on a two-CD set of the Carnegie Hall performance in November 2007 titled ''Heute Nacht Oder Nie'' (''Tonight or Never'') *

Amy X Neuburg Amy X Neuburg (born Cheltenham, England) is an American composer, vocalist, and electronic musician. Education and career She holds a B.M. degree in voice from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a B.A. in linguistics from Oberlin College, and ...

recorded a version on ''Sports! Chips! Booty!'' in 2000. * Gianluigi Trovesi and

Gianni Coscia Gianni Coscia (born January 23, 1931, in Alessandria) is an Italian jazz accordionist. Originally a lawyer, Coscia began focusing full-time on jazz music. Expresses an interest in developing "the remote values of cultural and popular tradition ...

recorded a

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

version in 2005. * Dagmar Krause, former Henry Cow member, recorded a version (as well as several other songs written by Bertolt Brecht) on her 1986 solo album, ''

Supply and Demand In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a Market (economics), market. It postulates that, Ceteris paribus, holding all else equal, in a perfect competition, competitive market, the unit price for a ...

''. * Johnny Logan covered the song on his album, ''

Irishman in America ''Irishman in America'' is the thirteenth studio album by Australian-born Irish singer and composer Johnny Logan, released in Europe in September 2008. The album is described as blending traditional Irish folk classics with American country & we ...

'' (2008). *

Viza Viza or VI·ZA (formerly known as Visa) was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, using oud, duduk and percussion fused with more conventional rock elements such as guitar, bass and drums. The band has released various EPs and fu ...

released a free download of their recording in 2012. *

Chiara Galiazzo Chiara Galiazzo (; born 12 August 1986) is an Italian singer. She rose to fame in 2012, after winning the sixth season of the Italian talent show ''X Factor''. Her debut single, titled "Due respiri" and co-written by Eros Ramazzotti, was rel ...

, the winner of the sixth series of the Italian version of '' The X-Factor'', presented a dance version on November 22, 2012. * Justin Vivian Bond covered the song on their 2012 solo album ''Silver Wells''. *

Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a ...

covered the song as a duet with Gavin Friday at her show in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on July 18, 2013. Linda van Dyck performed it on Swedish television show Forsta Samlek on May 10, 1972.

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control 1927 songs Arias in English Songs about Alabama Songs with music by Kurt Weill The Doors songs Songs about alcohol 1980 singles David Bowie songs Songs with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht Elektra Records singles RCA Records singles