For those attuned to the story of Joshua Norton’s December 1852 attempt to corner the San Francisco rice market, a Weimar-era song with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht and music by Hanns Eisler should harbor clear echoes.

The song, “Supply and Demand,” appears in Brecht’s play The Measures Taken (or The Decision) that first was performed in Berlin in December 1930.

The song is voiced by the character of the Trader, who opens the song with a meditation on his amoral effort to turn a profit on…rice.

This look at “Supply and Demand” includes audio and video of four recordings and performances of the song between 1965 and 2022.

Also included: A rare c.1920 advertising photograph showing Brecht with other key figures of Weimar popular culture.