- published: 12 Oct 2012
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Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950) was a German 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 fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. With Brecht, he developed productions such as his best-known work The Threepenny Opera, which included the ballad "Mack the Knife". Weill held the ideal of writing music that served a socially useful purpose. He also wrote several works for the concert hall, as well as several Judaism-themed pieces.
Weill was born on March 2, 1900, the third of four children to Albert Weill (1867–1950) and Emma Weill (née Ackermann; 1872–1955). He grew up in a religious Jewish family in the "Sandvorstadt", the Jewish quarter in Dessau, Germany, where his father was a cantor. At the age of twelve, Kurt Weill started taking piano lessons and made his first attempts at writing music; his earliest preserved composition was written in 1913 and is titled Mi Addir. Jewish Wedding Song.
There was a time, and now it's all gone by
When we two lived together, she and I
The way we were, was just the way to be
I cared for her, and she took care of me
And that arrangement seemed to work perfectly
The milkman rang the bell, I got out of bed
I opened up her purse, paid him what he said
I had a glass of milk, and back in bed I'd climb
You understand she was out working all the time
And so we lived, me and my little mouse
In that snug two by four where we kept house
That was a time, and now it's all gone by
When we were poor but happy, he and I
But when the day would bring no job to me
He'd curse and say how lazy can you be
I'll let him huff and puff
I've worked long enoguh
But when he drank too much, I'd get kinda grim
And shout the house down how I stood a clown like him
And then he'd turn around and try to bite my arm
And I would kick him in the teeth, meaning no harm
It was so sweet to be his little spouse
In that foul two by four where played house
Oh happy time and now it's all gone by
Until we quit each other, you and I
You stayed in bed all day and don't you smirk
You know we said that you'd do all the work
Now sleep's for the night they say
It ain't bad by day
So then I had my fill, swore I wouldn't stir
It looked like soon I would be taking care of her
You'd think a woman had a right to have one gripe
You left me flat. Well I just ain't the working type
We locked the door and each commenced to roam