(1928) Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill
You people can watch while I`m scrubbing these floors
And I`m scrubbin` the floors while you`re gawking
Maybe once ya tip me and it makes ya feel swell
In this crummy Southern town
In this crummy old hotel
But you`ll never guess to who you`re talkin`.
No. You couldn`t ever guess to who you`re talkin`.
Then one night there`s a scream in the night
And you`ll wonder who could that have been
And you see me kinda grinnin` while I`m scrubbin`
And you say, What`s she got to grin?
I`ll tell you.
There`s a ship
The Black Freighter
with a skull on its masthead
will be coming in
You gentlemen can say, Hey gal, finish them floors!
Get upstairs! What`s wrong with you! Earn your keep here!
You toss me your tips
and look out to the ships
But I`m counting your heads
as I`m making the beds
Cuz there`s nobody gonna sleep here, honey
Nobody
Nobody!
Then one night there`s a scream in the night
And you say, Who`s that kicking up a row?
And ya see me kinda starin` out the winda
And you say, What`s she got to stare at now?
I`ll tell ya.
There`s a ship
The Black Freighter
turns around in the harbor
shootin` guns from her bow
Now
You gentlemen can wipe off that smile off your face
Cause every building in town is a flat one
This whole frickin` place will be down to the ground
Only this cheap hotel standing up safe and sound
And you yell, Why do they spare that one?
Yes.
That`s what you say.
Why do they spare that one?
All the night through, through the noise and to-do
You wonder who is that person that lives up there?
And you see me stepping out in the morning
Looking nice with a ribbon in my hair
And the ship
The Black Freighter
runs a flag up its masthead
and a cheer rings the air
By noontime the dock
is a-swarmin` with men
comin` out from the ghostly freighter
They move in the shadows
where no one can see
And they`re chainin` up people
and they`re bringin` em to me
askin` me,
Kill them NOW, or LATER?
Askin` ME!
Kill them now, or later?
Noon by the clock
and so still by the dock
You can hear a foghorn miles away
And in that quiet of death
I`ll say, Right now.
Right now!
Then they`ll pile up the bodies
And I`ll say,
That`ll learn ya!
And the ship
The Black Freighter
disappears out to sea
And
on
it
is
me
