"Song from M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless)" is a song written by Johnny Mandel (music) and Mike Altman (lyrics), which was the theme song for both the movie and TV series M*A*S*H. Mike Altman is the son of the original film’s director, Robert Altman, and was 14 years old when he wrote the song’s lyrics. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the 1980s, Robert Altman said that while he only made $70,000 for having directed the movie, his son had earned more than $1 million for having co-written the song.
Several instrumental versions of the song were used as the theme for the TV series. It became a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart in May 1980. The song was ranked #66 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.
Background and recording
The song was written specifically for Ken Prymus (the actor playing Private Seidman), who sang it during the faux suicide of Walter "Painless Pole" Waldowski (John Schuck) in the film's "Last Supper" scene. Robert Altman had two stipulations about the song for Mandel: first, it had to be called "Suicide Is Painless"; second, it had to be the "stupidest song ever written". Altman tried to write the lyrics himself, but found that it was too difficult for his 45-year-old brain to write "stupid enough". Instead he gave the task to his 14-year-old-son, Michael, who wrote the lyrics in five minutes.
Altman later decided that the song worked so well, he would use it as the film's main theme, despite Mandel's initial objections. This version was sung by uncredited session singers John Bahler, Tom Bahler, Ron Hicklin and Ian Freebairn-Smith and the single was attributed to "The Mash."
7" vinylWest Germany: CBS / 5009UK: CBS / S CBS 8536US: Columbia / JZSS 153321 [Promo only]US: Columbia / ZSS 153321 [original release]Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers released a cover version of "Suicide Is Painless" on 7 September 1992 as "Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)". In the UK it was a double A-side charity single to help The Spastics Society, with The Fatima Mansions' take on Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" as the other A-side. The 12" and CD versions of the UK single included "Sleeping with the NME" – an excerpt from a radio documentary recorded in the offices of the NME capturing staff's reaction to photographs of guitarist Richey Edwards' infamous self-mutilation. The single peaked at number 7 in the UK Singles Chart spending three weeks in the Top Ten.
7" vinylUK: Columbia / 658382 7Netherlands: Columbia / COL 658385 712" vinylUK: Columbia / 658382 6CDUK: Columbia / 658382 2Europe: Columbia / 658385 2Japan: Epic/Sony / ESCA 5668Grady Tate recorded a soul-jazz version of the song for his 1970 album After the Long Drive Home.Al De Lory recorded a jazz piano version for his 1970 album Al De Lory Plays Song from M*A*S*H. This version peaked at #7 on the adult contemporary chart during the summer of 1970.Henry Mancini recorded an easy listening version for his 1970 album Mancini Plays the Theme from Love Story.Andre Kostelanetz recorded an easy listening version for his 1970 album Everything Is Beautiful.Fung Bo Bo recorded a female-vocal version (in English) on a Malaysian EP (MMI Top 21006) in 1970.Ahmad Jamal recorded an instrumental jazz-funk version for his 1974 album Jamalca. This version was included on some re-releases of the soundtrack album. Jamal recorded another version of the tune for his 1985 album Digital Works.Roy Ayers recorded an instrumental version for his 1974 album Change Up the Groove.Paul Desmond recorded an instrumental version for his 1974 album Pure Desmond.101 Strings recorded an easy listening version for their 1975 album T.V. Themes.Kerstin Forslund and the Small Town Singers released a version in 1975. The single peaked at 17th position in Sweden, Top 100 chart in Australia.Norrie Paramor recorded an instrumental version for his 1975 album Radio 2 Top Tunes Vol. 3.Ray Conniff recorded an easy listening version for his 1976 album Theme from S.W.A.T. and Other TV Themes.Bill Evans recorded a jazz piano trio version for You Must Believe in Spring, an album posthumously released in 1980, having made it a staple of his live sets for some years. Evans' version modulates through 4 keys. The song is also recorded in a jazz piano trio version on the CD Bill Evans Trio, recorded live in Buenos Aires in 1979.Cal Tjader recorded a version for his 1981 album The Shining Sea.Franck Pourcel recorded a version for his 1982 album Palmes D'or.Jimmy Smith recorded a version for his 1982 album Off the Top.Art Of Noise performed a short instrumental interpolation on their 1984 track "A Time for Fear (Who's Afraid)", featured on both Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? and Daft.Sue Raney recorded a vocal version for her 1988 album Quietly There.Royal Trux recorded a version for the BBC John Peel radio show in 1993. It was released in 1997 on a Royal Trux compilation called Singles, Live, Unreleased. On the compilation the song is titled "Theme from M.A.S.H."Killarmy sampled the music for their 1997 track "5 Stars" from the Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars album.Edgar Cruz recorded an instrumental cover of the song for his 1997 album Reminiscence titled "M*A*S*H Theme".In 1997, Three 6 Mafia sampled it on their song "Will Blast " , from their album Chapter 2: World DominationJay-Jay Johanson performed a version of this song on France Inter in 1997, later released on a promotional CD. In 2011 it appeared on his album Spellbound.Marilyn Manson did a version for the soundtrack of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 in 2000.Richard Schiff sang a portion of the song as a drunken Toby Ziegler in a Season 5 episode of The West Wing entitled, "The Stormy Present".Barði Jóhannsson and Keren Ann recorded a version for their 2003 album Lady and Bird.Stewie Griffin (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) sang a part of it in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story in 2005.Matt Costa, singer-songwriter from Huntington Beach, California, USA covered the song on his six-track The Elasmosaurus EP in 2005.Kelis does her own interpretation of the song in her single "Lil Star" (with Cee-Lo), released in 2007.The Drones performed an acoustic version in 2008 on Triple J in Australia.Ania Dąbrowska recorded a version of this song for her 2010 album Ania Movie.Amanda Lear recorded an acoustic and a dance version of this song for her 2009 album Brief Encounters.Tripod did a short acoustic rendition of the theme in the song "Lingering Dad". Additionally, portions of the theme were later used in the song "Theme from Mash Guy" – a comedic song about a fictionalised writer of the song in an existentialist crisis over being known only as "the theme from M*A*S*H guy".Harry Allen/Jan Lundgren Quartet does an instrumental version in the 2015 Stunt album Quietly There.Michael Kollwitz released an arrangement for the Chapman Stick in 2012.