The one you never seen before.

Ya, I've heard about him.

standin' in the shadow

and leave his footprints up and down your hall

__________________________

... some germans confuse "midnight rambler" with "midnight rammler"...funny....

I guess that might be a used term, I don't know but Bob Dylan revisited the theme slightly in the early 2000s.

And I only bring it up because in the context of the song, it worked really good, I always wonder if there was some sort of intended reference here.

Quote

Some trains don't pull no gamblers
No midnight ramblers, like they did before
I've been to sugar town, I shook the sugar down
Now I'm tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door.

[www.azlyrics.com]

Can not decide on my second favorite Stones song, but I have no problem knowing my first.

You mean the one that shut the kitchen door?


Well you heard about the Boston...
Honey, it's not one of those...
Well talking about the midnight...
The one who closed the bedroom door

The Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer (or murderers) of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s.Between June 14, 1962 and January 4, 1964, 13 single women (between the ages of 19 and 85) were murdered in the Boston area.

He don't give a hoot about warning
Wrapped up in a black cat cloak
He don't go in the light of the morning
He's split the time the cockerel crows


Most were sexually assaulted and strangled in their apartments. Without any sign of forced entry into their dwellings, the women were assumed to have either known their assailant or have voluntarily allowed them into their homes, believing them to be an apartment maintenance man, delivery man, or some other service man.

On October 27, 1964, a stranger entered a young woman's home posing as a detective. He tied the victim to her bed, sexually assaulted her, and then suddenly left, saying "I'm sorry" as he went. The woman's description led police to identify the assailant as Albert DeSalvo. When his photo was published, many women identified him as the man who had assaulted them.

I'm called the hit-and-run, rape-her-in-anger
The knife sharpened, tiptoe

The lyrics take the point of view of a roaming rapist/murderer; some of the words are reportedly quotes from Albert DeSalvo's confession to the Boston Strangler's crimes.

The title, the subject, was just one of those phrases taken out of sensationalist headlines that only exist for a day. You just happen to be looking at a newspaper, Midnight Rambler on the loose again. Oh, I'll have him.
- Keith Richards, Life (2010)

- baby, and it hurts...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-12-25 01:20 by seitan.

Albert DeSalvo grew up in Chelsea, Massachusetts where my husband grew up also, it is the next town north of Boston over the Mystic River Bridge. DeSalvo was 11 years older, but they swam at the same abandoned pier on the Mystic River with a bunch of other local kids..these were pretty tough kids anyway, but he remembers DeSalvo as being more of a bully than most of the older guys that hung around the area. This was about 1954 or 1955 or so, years before the killings in Boston. We lived up the street from DeSalvos brother until we left a few years ago....I think of this whenever I listen to "Midnight Rambler"....like, ok, yeah, my husband knew the "Midnight Rambler"!

Blue: Thank you for that story. Very interesting.

Kind of related, I wonder if the Mack the Knife song is about Jack The Ripper or am I missing it? To me that seems like a violent song despite however it is sung, I've got a Louis 'Satcho' Armstrong version though the best known one was probably the Bobby Darin version.

[www.bobbydarin.net]

Quote

Written by: Kurt Weill/E. Bertolt Brecht/Marc Blitzstein
Written in 1928 as “Moritat” or “Theme from the Threepenny Opera” aka “The Beggar’s Opera” and introduced in that production by Weill’s wife, Lotte Lenya
Produced by: Ahmet Ertegun/Nesuhi Ertegun/Jerry Wexler

Obviously though when one hears "Mack the Knife" I would think it brings to mind Jack The Ripper who is a bit like the Midnight Rambler.
-----------------

On a personal note, talking about your state, I ride a bike a lot, the late Sheldon Brown out in that state of Mass. sure has helped a lot of people through his website: [www.sheldonbrown.com] His was a loss when he passed away a few yers ago.

Now, Velo Orange out of Annapolis Maryland is a bit similar, similar to the Rivendell people too.

Quote
BroomWagon
Blue: Thank you for that story. Very interesting.

Kind of related, I wonder if the Mack the Knife song is about Jack The Ripper or am I missing it? To me that seems like a violent song despite however it is sung, I've got a Louis 'Satcho' Armstrong version though the best known one was probably the Bobby Darin version.

[www.bobbydarin.net]

Quote

Written by: Kurt Weill/E. Bertolt Brecht/Marc Blitzstein
Written in 1928 as “Moritat” or “Theme from the Threepenny Opera” aka “The Beggar’s Opera” and introduced in that production by Weill’s wife, Lotte Lenya
Produced by: Ahmet Ertegun/Nesuhi Ertegun/Jerry Wexler

Obviously though when one hears "Mack the Knife" I would think it brings to mind Jack The Ripper who is a bit like the Midnight Rambler.
-----------------

On a personal note, talking about your state, I ride a bike a lot, the late Sheldon Brown out in that state of Mass. sure has helped a lot of people through his website: [www.sheldonbrown.com] His was a loss when he passed away a few yers ago.


Now, Velo Orange out of Annapolis Maryland is a bit similar, similar to the Rivendell people too.

Well, Mack the Knife sure sounds like more of a gangster to me than Jack the Ripper, according to those lyrics....singing about cement shoes! Maybe he was from Chelsea too, it's that kind of city, or East Boston next store! Have since moved to the south now. Not familiar with the cyclist Sheldon, but checked out his website, and sounds like he was certainly a great promoter of cycling. He was brought up in Marblehead and lived in Newton, Ma....a whole different world from Chelsea, very upscale!

yes - it,s Santa!!!

midnight rambler =
mild birth, manger

(Yikes and damn!)

I would certainly place Midnight Rambler as being in the top five of songs that I still enjoy hearing at a Stones concert (although many of the versions I have heard during the 2000's with maybe the exception of the HBO special featured on the Licks DVD to my ears have been lukewarm at best), however, not necessarily for the content, but in the way it rocks with that fast tempo and instrumental musical break. My wife, who has worked for the better part of her career as a victim's advocate, particularly with women of domestic violence, has over the years taken me to task on why I listen to Midnight Rambler. Unfortunately, she does not share my enthusiasm for the Stones, and even though I have tried to convince her otherwise via beautiful and elegant songs they have written such as Angie, Winter, She's a Rainbow, Ruby Tuesday, Memory Motel, she pounces on the other angrier/grittier tunes that have graced my stereo over the years such as Under My Thumb, Stupid Girl, Sitting on a Fence, and Some Girls with those catchy lyrics-you know the one about black girls...Nevertheless, she views the Stones as a bunch of misogynist types who certainly haven't helped the cause of women in the 20th century. Ouch!

Quote
Blue

Quote
BroomWagon
Blue: Thank you for that story. Very interesting.

Kind of related, I wonder if the Mack the Knife song is about Jack The Ripper or am I missing it? To me that seems like a violent song despite however it is sung, I've got a Louis 'Satcho' Armstrong version though the best known one was probably the Bobby Darin version.

[www.bobbydarin.net]

Quote

Written by: Kurt Weill/E. Bertolt Brecht/Marc Blitzstein
Written in 1928 as “Moritat” or “Theme from the Threepenny Opera” aka “The Beggar’s Opera” and introduced in that production by Weill’s wife, Lotte Lenya
Produced by: Ahmet Ertegun/Nesuhi Ertegun/Jerry Wexler

Obviously though when one hears "Mack the Knife" I would think it brings to mind Jack The Ripper who is a bit like the Midnight Rambler.
-----------------

On a personal note, talking about your state, I ride a bike a lot, the late Sheldon Brown out in that state of Mass. sure has helped a lot of people through his website: [www.sheldonbrown.com] His was a loss when he passed away a few yers ago.


Now, Velo Orange out of Annapolis Maryland is a bit similar, similar to the Rivendell people too.

Well, Mack the Knife sure sounds like more of a gangster to me than Jack the Ripper, according to those lyrics....singing about cement shoes! Maybe he was from Chelsea too, it's that kind of city, or East Boston next store! Have since moved to the south now. Not familiar with the cyclist Sheldon, but checked out his website, and sounds like he was certainly a great promoter of cycling. He was brought up in Marblehead and lived in Newton, Ma....a whole different world from Chelsea, very upscale!

Mack the Knife was originally inspired by the highwayman MacHeath in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and his name in the Threepenny Opera was Mackie Messer, literally Mac The Knife in German. The song is actually called Die Moritat von Mackie Messer or The Ballad Of Mack the Knife. The idea was given a great 20th century gangster twist by the lyricist Brecht.


Oh the shark babe has such teeth, dear
And he shows them pearly white
Just a jack knife has ol’ MacHeath, babe
And he keeps it out of sight

You know when that shark bites with his teeth, dear
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves though wears ol’ MacHeath, babe
So there's never, never a trace of red

On the sidewalk, Oh Sunday morning don’t you know
Lies a body just oozing life
And Someone's sneaking around the corner
Could that be our boy Mack the knife?

From a tug boat down by the river don’t you know
Lays a cement bag just dropping on down
That’s cement's there, it’s there for the weight, dear
I’ll get you ten ol’ Macky is back in town

Did you hear bout Louie Miller? He disappeared, babe
After drawing out all his hard earned cash
And know MacHeath spends, he spends just like a, like a sailor
Could it be, could it be, could it be, our boy did something rash?

Jenny Diver Oh Sukey Tawdry
Look out Miss Polly Peachum and Oh Lucy Brown
Yeah the line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky is back in town

Ha! Intereting! It is about a gangster..... The CEMENT BAG reference was the big clue!

Hey are you talking about me

The one you never seen before

........saw you jumpin' that garden wall!

Personally, when I go to a Stones show and they break into MR, it makes my day. There are few things finer in all of rock and roll than the Stones doing MR live. I was thrilled to hear it live for the first time at Shea Stadium, '89 and didn't get another dose until Giants Stadium in 2006. Both were great and had the stadium crowds roaring. '89 was also the first time I got to hear SFTD live. Nice, but my favorite version is the one on Ya Yas rather than sampled drum loops.

Great memories of this song:

75 live at my first Stones show- wow, that was my real intro to Rick and roll

73 Brussels- my fav version

Last couple tomes they played AT&t park outside in SF I recall how cool the riff was when the whole stadium was lights out and quiet mud song

My fav stones song