The Doors — Alabama Song
Album: The DoorsAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 392
Length: 3:18
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Well, show me the way
To the next whisky bar
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why
Show me the way
To the next whisky bar
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why
For if we don't find
The next whisky 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 whisky, oh, you know why
Oh, moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We've lost our good old mama
And must have whisky, 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 whisky, oh, you know why
To the next whisky bar
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why
Show me the way
To the next whisky bar
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why
For if we don't find
The next whisky 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 whisky, oh, you know why
Oh, moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We've lost our good old mama
And must have whisky, 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 whisky, oh, you know why
Comments (13)add comment
Excellent!!
Roguewarer wrote:
Never thought that about this song
I think this song can be safely never played again. Ugh! It's crap from an otherwise pretty decent musical group.
Never thought that about this song
I was blasting this in my van at a campground back in the eighties. A mom came up to the van with her kids thinking I was an ice cream truck!
I think this song can be safely never played again. Ugh! It's crap from an otherwise pretty decent musical group.
This was one of their songs in the beginning that really sucked me in with its great hookiness and cheesy organ. Showed me how much fun this band could be in other ways besides just Light My Fire which it leads right into on the album.
Sick! Love sick. and love this group. So there!
Ah Bless you BillG! You must have been reading the comments on some other song recently where someone commented on the "whisky bar song" - glad to hear Alabama Song on the main mix! Long Live RP and the Lizard King!!
paloeguevo wrote:
So was Germany in the 1920s. But I suspect you know nothing about any of this.
Lyrics are pretty creepy, borderline sick
So was Germany in the 1920s. But I suspect you know nothing about any of this.
phlattop wrote:
From Wiki:
The "Alabama Song" was written as a German poem and translated into idiosyncratic English for the author Bertolt Brecht by his close collaborator Elisabeth Hauptmann in 1925[1] and published in Brecht's 1927 Home Devotions (German: Hauspostille), a parody of Martin Luther's collection of sermons. It was set to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 play Little Mahagonny (Mahagonny-Songspiel) and reused for Brecht and Weill's 1930 opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt 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 actress and dancer Lotte Lenya, Weill's wife,[2] 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";[3] it was rerecorded the same year for the Ultraphon record label for release with the 1930 Leipzig premiere of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, despite Lenya not being a member of that cast.[4] She continued to perform and record the song throughout her life, including for her 1955 album Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill (Lotte Lenya singt Kurt Weill), released in the United States under the title Berlin Theater Songs.[3]
The song was recorded in 1966 by the rock group the Doors, listed as "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)". According to drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger, the song was presented by keyboardist Ray Manzarek to the group and after the other members were dissatisfied with the melody, they changed it.[6][7] For the Doors' version, Manzarek plays the Marxophone along with the organ and keyboard bass.[8]
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",[9] but, on the 1967 Live at the Matrix recording, he sings the original unaltered "next pretty boy".
If I remember correctly, it's a Kurt Weill song.
From Wiki:
The "Alabama Song" was written as a German poem and translated into idiosyncratic English for the author Bertolt Brecht by his close collaborator Elisabeth Hauptmann in 1925[1] and published in Brecht's 1927 Home Devotions (German: Hauspostille), a parody of Martin Luther's collection of sermons. It was set to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 play Little Mahagonny (Mahagonny-Songspiel) and reused for Brecht and Weill's 1930 opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt 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 actress and dancer Lotte Lenya, Weill's wife,[2] 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";[3] it was rerecorded the same year for the Ultraphon record label for release with the 1930 Leipzig premiere of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, despite Lenya not being a member of that cast.[4] She continued to perform and record the song throughout her life, including for her 1955 album Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill (Lotte Lenya singt Kurt Weill), released in the United States under the title Berlin Theater Songs.[3]
The song was recorded in 1966 by the rock group the Doors, listed as "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)". According to drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger, the song was presented by keyboardist Ray Manzarek to the group and after the other members were dissatisfied with the melody, they changed it.[6][7] For the Doors' version, Manzarek plays the Marxophone along with the organ and keyboard bass.[8]
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",[9] but, on the 1967 Live at the Matrix recording, he sings the original unaltered "next pretty boy".
Lyrics are pretty creepy, borderline sick
If I remember correctly, it's a Kurt Weill song.
crazy song, thought it was the weirdest song ever when i first heard it. its grown on me
I was blasting this in my van at a campground back in the eighties. A mom came up to the van with her kids thinking I was an ice cream truck!
LOL! Too funny!