Suicide Is Painless


"Suicide Is Painless" is a song written by Johnny Mandel and Michael Altman 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.

Background

The song was written for Ken Prymus, the actor playing Private Seidman, to sing during the faux-suicide of Walter "Painless Pole" Waldowski in the film's "Last Supper" scene. 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". Altman attempted to write the lyrics himself, but, upon finding it too difficult for his "45-year-old brain" to write something "stupid" enough, he gave the task to his 15-year-old-son Michael, who reportedly 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. 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 made only $70,000 for directing the movie, his son had earned more than $1 million for co-writing the song.
Several instrumental versions of the song were used as the theme for the TV series, but the lyrics were never used in the show. The vocal version from the film's opening credits became a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart in May 1980. 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
  • US: Columbia / 4S-45130

Manic Street Preachers version

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. ". 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 spending three weeks in the top 10.

Track listings

7-inch vinyl
  • UK: Columbia / 658382 7
  • Netherlands: Columbia / COL 658385 7
12-inch vinyl
  • UK: Columbia / 658382 6
CD
  • UK: Columbia / 658382 2
  • Europe: Columbia / 658385 2
  • Japan: Epic/Sony / ESCA 5668

Cover versions