Suicide Is Painless - wikipedia Suicide Is Painless For the Grey 's Anatomy episode, see Suicide Is Painless ( Grey 's Anatomy ). This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia 's quality standards. The specific problem is : Tables in `` Manic '' section need formatting Please help improve this article if you can. ( July 2014 ) `` Suicide Is Painless '' Single by The Mash from the album M * A * S * H ( Original Soundtrack Recording ) B - side `` The M * A * S * H March '' Released 1970 Format 7 '' vinyl Recorded 1969 Genre Folk Length 2 : 53 Label Columbia / CBS Songwriter ( s ) Johnny Mandel ( music ) Mike Altman ( lyrics ) Producer ( s ) Thomas Z. Shepard `` 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. Contents 1 Background and recording 2 Track listing 3 Chart performance 4 Manic Street Preachers version 4.1 Track listings 4.2 Chart performance 4.3 UK Chart Performance 5 Cover recorded versions 6 References 7 External links 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. '' Track listing 7 '' vinyl West Germany : CBS / 5009 UK : CBS / S CBS 8536 US : Columbia / JZSS 153321 ( Promo only ) US : Columbia / ZSS 153321 ( original 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 Dutch Top 40 Chart ( 1980 ) Peak position UK Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart Preceded by `` What 's Another Year '' by Johnny Logan UK number one single 31 May 1980 -- 14 June 1980 Succeeded by `` Crying '' by Don McLean Manic Street Preachers version `` Theme from M.A.S.H. ( Suicide Is Painless ) '' Single by Manic Street Preachers from the album Ruby Trax B - side `` ( Everything I Do ) I Do It for You '' ( by The Fatima Mansions ) `` Sleeping with the NME '' `` Spectators of Suicide '' `` Star Lover '' `` Never Want Again '' `` Dead Yankee Drawl '' `` Ai n't Goin ' Down '' Released 7 September 1992 ( 1992 - 09 - 07 ) Format 7 '' vinyl, 12 '' vinyl, CD Genre Alternative rock, hard rock, soft rock Length 3 : 43 Label Columbia Songwriter ( s ) Johnny Mandel ( music ) Mike Altman ( lyrics ) 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 ) `` 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 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. Track listings 7 '' 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 '' 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. `` Ai n't Goin ' Down '' 3 : 08 Chart performance Chart ( 1992 ) Peak position UK Singles Chart 7 Irish Singles Chart 12 Swedish Singles Chart 21 UK Chart Performance UK Top 40 Week 01 02 03 04 05 Position 9 7 9 16 32 Cover recorded versions This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2014 ) Grady 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 Domination. Jay - 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 titled `` 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. Yuji Ohno recorded an instrumental version for his 2009 album Y.O. Connection. Amanda Lear recorded an acoustic and a dance version of this song for her 2009 album Brief Encounters. Ania Dąbrowska recorded a version of this song for her 2010 album Ania Movie. 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 performs an instrumental version in the 2015 Stunt album Quietly There. Michael Kollwitz released an arrangement for the Chapman Stick in 2012. References Jump up ^ Roberts, David ( 2006 ). British Hit Singles & Albums ( 19th ed. ). London : Guinness World Records Limited. p. 381. ISBN 1 - 904994 - 10 - 5. Jump up ^ `` 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 could n't get it up with the WAC the night before. ' Jump up ^ Michael L. LaBlanc. `` Gale Musician Profiles : Johnny Mandel ''. The Gale Group. The Theme for M * A * S * H ( Suicide Is Painless ) was n't intended to be the theme of the motion picture. It was written in 1970 for the `` Last Supper '' scene and was actually intended to be played by one of the actors. It had to be written before the movie was actually shot. Jump up ^ `` 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. ' Jump up ^ `` 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 ca n't write anything nearly as stupid as what we need. ' Jump up ^ `` 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. Jump up ^ Michael L. LaBlanc. `` Gale Musician Profiles : Johnny Mandel ''. The Gale Group. His 14 - year - old son, Mike Altman, was enlisted and wrote the lyrics in five minutes to which Mandel later added the melody. Jump up ^ Francis D. McKinley. `` MASH Notes : The Story Behind `` Suicide is Painless ''. Neatorama. Jump up ^ Michael L. LaBlanc. `` Gale Musician Profiles : Johnny Mandel ''. The Gale Group. Later when the movie was being edited, Mandel heard the song being played over the film 's title in the helicopter scene and protested, saying, `` It was the stupidest thing I have ever seen, '' and angrily walked out insisting it did n't fit. The studio ignored his protest. Jump up ^ `` dutchcharts.nl -- M * A * S * H -- Suicide Is Painless ( Theme from M * A * S * H ) '' ( in Dutch ). Retrieved 27 July 2009. Jump up ^ `` De Nederlandse Top 40 : week 39, 1970 '' ( in Dutch ). Retrieved 27 July 2009. Jump up ^ `` Chart Stats -- MASH -- Theme from ' M * A * S * H ' ( Suicide Is Painless ) ''. Retrieved 27 July 2009. Jump up ^ Burrows, Marc ( 25 October 2012 ). `` Old music : Manic Street Preachers -- Theme from M * A * S * H ( Suicide Is Painless ) ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Official Charts Company ''. Official Charts. Retrieved 26 February 2015. Jump up ^ `` irishcharts.ie search results ''. Retrieved 27 July 2009. Jump up ^ `` swedishcharts.com -- Manic Street Preachers -- Suicide Is Painless ( Theme from M.A.S.H ) ''. Retrieved 27 July 2009. Jump up ^ Adult Contemporary : July 04, 1970 Billboard Chart Archive. Billboard.com ( 1970 - 07 - 04 ). Retrieved on 2014 - 03 - 29. Jump up ^ `` Suicide Is Painless '' ( in Swedish ). Svensk mediedatabas. 1975. Retrieved 25 November 2013. Jump up ^ `` Suicide Is Painless '' ( in Swedish ). Hitparad. 1975. Retrieved 25 November 2013. Jump up ^ `` Rainbows : Solo Chapman Stick SG - 12 : Michael Kollwitz : MP3 Downloads ''. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 03. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics M * A * S * H Novels MASH : A Novel About Three Army Doctors M * A * S * H Goes to Maine M * A * S * H Mania Film MASH Music `` Suicide Is Painless '' Television Episodes Season 1 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Guest stars Characters Trapper John, M.D. AfterMASH W * A * L * T * E * R Portal Manic Street Preachers James Dean Bradfield Sean Moore Nicky Wire Miles Woodward Richey Edwards Studio albums Generation Terrorists Gold Against the Soul The Holy Bible Everything Must Go This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours Know Your Enemy Lifeblood Send Away the Tigers Journal for Plague Lovers Postcards from a Young Man Rewind the Film Futurology Compilation albums Forever Delayed Lipstick Traces National Treasures -- The Complete Singles EPs New Art Riot E.P. Life Becoming a Landslide E.P. Singles `` Suicide Alley '' `` Motown Junk '' `` You Love Us ( Heavenly Version ) '' `` Stay Beautiful '' `` Love 's Sweet Exile '' / `` Repeat '' `` You Love Us '' `` Slash ' n ' Burn '' `` Motorcycle Emptiness '' `` Theme from M.A.S.H. ( Suicide Is Painless ) '' `` Little Baby Nothing '' `` From Despair to Where '' `` La Tristesse Durera ( Scream to a Sigh ) '' `` Roses in the Hospital '' `` Faster '' `` Revol '' `` She Is Suffering '' `` A Design for Life '' `` Everything Must Go '' `` Kevin Carter '' `` Further Away '' `` Australia '' `` If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next '' `` The Everlasting '' `` You Stole the Sun from My Heart '' `` Tsunami '' `` The Masses Against the Classes '' `` Found That Soul '' `` So Why So Sad '' `` Ocean Spray '' `` Let Robeson Sing '' `` There by the Grace of God '' `` The Love of Richard Nixon '' `` Empty Souls '' `` Underdogs '' `` Your Love Alone Is Not Enough '' `` Indian Summer '' `` ( It 's Not War ) Just the End of Love '' `` Some Kind of Nothingness '' `` Postcards from a Young Man '' `` This Is the Day '' `` Show Me the Wonder '' `` Anthem for a Lost Cause '' `` Walk Me to the Bridge '' `` Futurology '' `` Together Stronger ( C'mon Wales ) '' Other songs `` 4st 7lb '' `` Peeled Apples '' Video albums Everything Live Leaving the 20th Century Louder Than War Forever Delayed Related articles Discography Music of Cardiff Culture, Alienation, Boredom and Despair Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Suicide_Is_Painless&oldid=802940407 '' Categories : 1970 singles 1970 songs 1980 singles Charity singles Columbia Records singles Irish Singles Chart number - one singles M * A * S * H Manic Street Preachers songs UK Singles Chart number - one singles Songs about suicide Songs about the military Songs written for films Songs with music by Johnny Mandel Television theme songs Hidden categories : CS1 Dutch - language sources ( nl ) CS1 Swedish - language sources ( sv ) Articles needing cleanup from July 2014 All pages needing cleanup Cleanup tagged articles with a reason field from July 2014 Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from July 2014 Articles with hAudio microformats Track listings with deprecated parameters Articles needing additional references from July 2014 All articles needing additional references Use dmy dates from September 2011 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Brezhoneg Deutsch فارسی Italiano Norsk Polski Português Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 29 September 2017, at 13 : 00. 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Question: who wrote the theme song for the tv show mash
Answer: Johnny Mandel (music)