crazy mary

pickupyourwill

okay, so is this song ultimately about not letting hatred (small group hatred for instance) take a person's life? like in the same way that the KKK played God--or Hitler for that matter.?

It also kind of reminds me of the Salem witch trials a little. Am I right about this?

what is the song really about, if I'm wrong here?

ed243421

where do you get that interpertation?
i get that the poor and the "invisible" never get a "good break".

pickupyourwill

ed243421 wrote:

where do you get that interpertation?
i get that the poor and the "invisible" never get a "good break".

It talks about the people congregating under the no loitering sign. Mary is "crazy" and poor, alcoholic? At the end, there are skidmarks off and around her house--and she used to always sit on the side of the road. So I kinda pieced together that maybe they were drinking, congregating and planning on doing away with her? But maybe I was looking too much into it?

ed243421

pickupyourwill wrote:

ed243421 wrote:

where do you get that interpertation?
i get that the poor and the "invisible" never get a "good break".

It talks about the people congregating under the no loitering sign. Mary is "crazy" and poor, alcoholic? At the end, there are skidmarks off and around her house--and she used to always sit on the side of the road. So I kinda pieced together that maybe they were drinking, congregating and planning on doing away with her? But maybe I was looking too much into it?

doing away with her?
its a story when the author was a child and she was introduced to "crazy mary".
probably taught to ignore and stay away.
and in a dream, she saw the real mary, rising up above it all.
if what you fear the most could meet you half way.
come together.
don't fear knowledge.

pickupyourwill

ed243421 wrote:

pickupyourwill wrote:

ed243421 wrote:

where do you get that interpertation?
i get that the poor and the "invisible" never get a "good break".

It talks about the people congregating under the no loitering sign. Mary is "crazy" and poor, alcoholic? At the end, there are skidmarks off and around her house--and she used to always sit on the side of the road. So I kinda pieced together that maybe they were drinking, congregating and planning on doing away with her? But maybe I was looking too much into it?

doing away with her?
its a story when the author was a child and she was introduced to "crazy mary".
probably taught to ignore and stay away.
and in a dream, she saw the real mary, rising up above it all.
if what you fear the most could meet you half way.
come together.
don't fear knowledge.

yeah, that sounds right. I've only heard the song a few times. I got the doing away with her interpretation after looking carefully at the lyrics--looking too much into them I suppose. thanks for the info. I knew I was missing something.

ed243421

just a guess

pandora

this is a family favorite, husband, my kids, my kids friends all grown now, we all love it. Happy memories.
And yes there is a great message but the "take a bottle, pass it around" is just it for us!

Backstop-440

I hear a tale of regret.

The first verse is background, about Crazy Mary's place on the way to town. We learn that she's not just poor or *thought* to be insane - her hands fly from her side in wild ravings scaring the narrator as a kid.

Local kids share a bottle of booze, defying the no loitering sign. One of the drunk kids decide to drive through Mary's shack - their former display of mercy (asking Mama to give Mary a ride) is gone "out the window."

The vision of Mary's house and Mary rising up above it all is the narrator's hazy memory of driving the car through the trees and fields and into her place. He regrets taking the bottle and doing something so insane. There was a fear of Mary's insanity and now he's done something worse than she ever did to him.

I hear those last lines of "take a bottle" as bitter, bitter regret.

IT237515

Hello forum!

This song is one of my favourites. I like your interpretation Backstop-440. Me I only figured someone drove a car into her house and she died. But she rised above it all to the heavens cause she was harmless and innocent?
There's a theme of poverty, mental disease, abusing alcohol and crime.

IT

JBii

This is my all time favorite and not for interpretation but the memories it brings.It is one cool song standing by itself but hearing a minivan full of kids in sing a long well over a decade ago makes it special today. Getting a Secret Santa gift box themed in Crazy Mary from my wife, opening the gifts and 'the little blue car we used to race' another great memory for me. Songs hold their special places in our hearts partially cause of memories.

SEACIDE

Here's my interpretation.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOQF71IYpvw

JBii

I miss Crazy Mary been awhile

nickburrows14

To me it's about a strange lady who people are kinda weary of. From a child's point of view they want to make their own mind up about this person and they see what a strong, beautiful person Mary is despite what the perception is of her. In other words, don't judge a book by it's cover.