Suicide Is Painless

"Suicide Is Painless" (also known as "Theme from M*A*S*H" or "Song from M*A*S*H") is a song written by Johnny Mandel (music) and Michael Altman (lyrics) for the 1970 film M*A*S*H. In addition to being performed by characters in the film, it plays during the title sequence as sung by The Ron Hicklin Singers. An instrumental version was used as the theme music for the TV series based on the film, playing over the opening and closing credits.

"Suicide Is Painless"
European picture sleeve
Single by The Mash
from the album M*A*S*H (Original Soundtrack Recording)
B-side	"The M*A*S*H March"
Released	1970
Recorded	1969
Length	2:53
Label	Columbia/CBS
Composer(s)	Johnny Mandel
Lyricist(s)	Mike Altman
Producer(s)	Thomas Z. Shepard
Music video
"Suicide Is Painless" (audio) on YouTube

Background

The song was written for Ken Prymus, the actor playing Private Seidman, to sing during the faux-suicide of Walter "Painless Pole" Waldowski (John Schuck) in the film's "Last Supper" scene.^[1] Director Robert Altman had two stipulations about the song for composer Johnny Mandel: it had to be called "Suicide Is Painless" and it had to be the "stupidest song ever written".^[2] Altman attempted to write the lyric himself, but, upon finding it too difficult for his "45-year-old brain" to write something "stupid" enough,^[3] he gave the task to his 15-year-old-son Michael, who reportedly wrote the lyrics in five minutes.^[4][5]

Altman later decided that the song worked so well he would use it as the film's main theme. This more choral version was sung by uncredited session singers John Bahler, Tom Bahler, Ron Hicklin, and Ian Freebairn-Smith, and was released as a single attributed to "The Mash". Altman said that, while he only made $70,000 for directing the movie, his son had earned more than $1 million for co-writing the song.^[6]

Several instrumental versions of the song were used as the theme for the TV series, but the lyrics were never used in the show.^[7] It became a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart in May 1980.^[8] The song was ranked No. 66 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.

Track listing

7″ vinyl

• West Germany: CBS / 5009
• UK: CBS / S CBS 8536
• US: Columbia / 4M-45130 [mono promo only]
• US: Columbia / 4S-45130 [original stereo stock release]

A-side

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"Theme from M*A*S*H Suicide Is Painless"	Johnny Mandel, Mike Altman	The Mash	2:53

B-side

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"The M*A*S*H March"	Mandel	Johnny Mandel	1:19

Chart performance

Chart (1970)	Peak position
Dutch GfK chart[9]	3
Dutch Top 40[10]	4
Chart (1980)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11]	52
UK Singles Chart[12]	1
Irish Singles Chart	1

Manic Street Preachers version

"Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)"
Single by Manic Street Preachers
from the album Ruby Trax
A-side	"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" (by the Fatima Mansions)
B-side	"Sleeping with the NME" "Spectators of Suicide" "Star Lover" "Never Want Again" "Dead Yankee Drawl" "Ain't Goin' Down"
Released	September 7, 1992 (1992-09-07)[13]
Genre	Alternative rock, soft rock[14]
Length	3:43
Label	Columbia
Composer(s)	Johnny Mandel
Lyricist(s)	Mike Altman
Producer(s)	Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers singles chronology
"Motorcycle Emptiness" (1992) "Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)" (1992) "Little Baby Nothing" (1992)

Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers released a cover version of "Suicide Is Painless" on September 7, 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-inch 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 seven on the UK Singles Chart^[15] spending three weeks in the top 10.

Track listings

7-inch vinyl

• UK: Columbia / 658382 7

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)"	Johnny Mandel, Mike Altman	Manic Street Preachers	3:40

Side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You"	Bryan Adams, Michael Kamen, Robert John "Mutt" Lange	The Fatima Mansions	6:26

• Netherlands: Columbia / COL 658385 7

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)"	Mandel, Altman

Side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Spectators of Suicide"	James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore, Richey James Edwards

12-inch vinyl

• UK: Columbia / 658382 6

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)"	Mandel, Altman	Manic Street Preachers

Side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You"	Adams, Kamen, Lange	The Fatima Mansions
2.	"Sleeping with the N.M.E."		Manic Street Preachers

CD

• UK: Columbia / 658382 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)"	Mandel, Altman	Manic Street Preachers
2.	"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You"	Adams, Kamen, Lange	The Fatima Mansions
3.	"Sleeping with the N.M.E."		Manic Street Preachers

• Europe: Columbia / 658385 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)"	Mandel, Altman
2.	"Spectators of Suicide"	Bradfield, Wire, Moore, Edwards
3.	"Star Lover"	Bradfield, Wire, Moore, Edwards

• Japan: Epic/Sony / ESCA 5668

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)"	Mandel, Altman	3:43
2.	"Never Want Again"		3:39
3.	"Dead Yankee Drawl"		3:46
4.	"Ain't Goin' Down"		3:08

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1992) Peak position Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[16] 26 Ireland (IRMA)[17] 12 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 40 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 21 UK Singles (OCC)[15] 7

Year-end charts Chart (1992) Position UK Singles (OCC)[20] 98

Cover recorded versions

• Ahmad Jamal recorded a new version of the song that replaced the version by The MASH on pressings of the soundtrack album beginning in 1973; the film retained the original version.
• Bill Evans included an instrumental jazz cover on his posthumous album You Must Believe in Spring (recorded in 1977 but not released until 1981). Various live recordings by Evans are also in circulation.
• The Ventures recorded a cover version for their 1977 album TV Themes. This version makes heavy use of fuzz guitar, with a faster tempo and a funk beat.
• Al De Lory recorded "Song from M*A*S*H", an instrumental jazz piano version for his 1970 album Al De Lory Plays Song from M*A*S*H. This version peaked at No. 7 on the adult contemporary chart during the summer of 1970.^[21]
• Swedish group Small Town Singers released a version under the title "Song from M*A*S*H" in 1975.^[22] The single peaked at 17th position in Sweden,^[23] Top 100 chart in Australia.
• Marilyn Manson recorded a cover version which was released on the soundtrack to Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 in 2000
• In the tenth episode of the fifth season of The West Wing, titled "The Stormy Present", Toby Ziegler sings the song while drunkenly writing a eulogy for a former President aboard Air Force One.
• The Icelandic duo Lady & Bird covered the song for their 2003 self-titled album.

References

1. "Interview with Johnny Mandel". JazzWax.com. October 24, 2008. Bob said to me, 'You know, I need a song for the film. It's that Last Supper scene, after the guy says he'd going to do himself with a pill because his life is over, because couldn't get it up with the WAC the night before.'
2. "Interview with Johnny Mandel". JazzWax.com. October 24, 2008. Bob also said the song had to be called 'Suicide Is Painless'. 'Since [Capt.] Painless commits suicide with a pill, that would be a good title,' he said. Then he said, 'It's got to be the stupidest song ever written.'
3. "Interview with Johnny Mandel". JazzWax.com. October 24, 2008. Bob was going to take a shot at the lyrics. But he came back two days later and said, 'I'm sorry but there's just too much stuff in this 45-year-old brain. I can't write anything nearly as stupid as what we need.'
4. "Interview with Johnny Mandel". JazzWax.com. October 24, 2008. Bob said, "All is not lost. I've got a 15-year-old kid who's a total idiot." So Michael Altman, at age 15, wrote the lyrics, and then I wrote the music to them.
5. Francis D. McKinley (July 28, 2015). "MASH Notes: The Story Behind "Suicide is Painless". Neatorama.
6. Stamberg, Susan (March 25, 2010). "More Than 'M*A*S*H': Songwriter Johnny Mandel". NPR.org. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
7. "Music of M*A*S*H". MASH4077TV.com. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 381. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
9. "dutchcharts.nl – M*A*S*H – Suicide Is Painless (Theme from M*A*S*H)" (in Dutch). Retrieved July 27, 2009.
10. "De Nederlandse Top 40: week 39, 1970" (in Dutch). Retrieved July 27, 2009.
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 194. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. "The Official Charts Company – MASH – Theme from 'M*A*S*H' (Suicide Is Painless)". Official Charts. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
13. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. September 5, 1992. p. 21.
14. Burrows, Marc (October 25, 2012). "Old music: Manic Street Preachers – Theme from M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless)". The Guardian. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
16. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 41. October 10, 1992. p. 39.
17. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Theme from M.A.S.H.". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
18. "Manic Street Preachers – Suicide Is Painless (Theme from M.A.S.H.)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
19. "Manic Street Preachers – Suicide Is Painless (Theme from M.A.S.H.)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
20. "Year End Charts: Top Singles". Music Week. January 16, 1993. p. 8.
21. Adult Contemporary : July 04, 1970 | Billboard Chart Archive. Billboard.com (1970-07-04). Retrieved on 2014-03-29.
22. "Suicide Is Painless" (in Swedish). Svensk mediedatabas. 1975. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
23. "Suicide Is Painless" (in Swedish). Hitparad. 1975. Retrieved November 25, 2013.