She lived on the curve of the road,
In an old, tar-paper shack
On the south side of the town,
On the wrong side of the tracks

Sometimes on the way into town we'd say:
"Mama, can we stop and give her a ride?"
Sometimes we did,
But her hands flew from her side
Wild eyed, crazy Mary

Down a long dirt road, past the Parson's place
That old blue car we used to race
Little country store
With a sign tacked to the side
Said 'No L-O-I-T-E-are-I-N-G Allowed'

Underneath that sign
Always congregated quite a crowd
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around

One night thunder cracked,
Mercy backed outside her window sill
Dreamed I was flying high above the trees,
Over the hills
Looked down into the house of Mary
Bare bulb hung, newspaper-covered walls,
And Mary rising above it all

Next morning on the way into town
Saw some skid marks and followed them around
Over the curve, through the fields,
Into the house of Mary

That what you fear the most,
Could meet you halfway
That what you fear the most,
Could meet you halfway

Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around



Lyrics submitted by ShiverForMe, edited by stringray

Track duration: 05:39

"Crazy Mary" as written by Victoria Ann Williams

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Crazy Mary song meanings
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22 Comments

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  • +1
    My Interpretation:My two cents – I think this tale/song is told from the perspective of a man reflecting back on a traumatic event from younger years in his life. In the first verse he is telling of his adolescent years when he was about 10 or 11 years old. He and his family were poor and they lived outside a small town on an old dirt road. To drive into town they had to pass an old, rundown shack that a poor, old, crazy woman named Mary lived in. (They all lived on the wrong side of the tracks) As a young boy, the narrator was fascinated with Mary because she was such a character….with her wild eyes, flailing arm gestures.

    In the second verse I think the narrator is an older teenager, about 17 or 18. There is nothing to do in this small, boring town, so everyone just hangs out outside the corner store and drinks beer. To get to the corner store from his home he has to drive his old blue car past Mary’s shack and past the Parson’s place. The Parson’s are another family that live off that same old, rural dirt road. One night the narrator is particularly drunk. He is driving home on a big, beer high. Even though there is a rainstorm and he can’t see well, he is speeding along and he feels like he is “flying high above the trees and over the hills”.

    The next day on the way into town as he approaches old Mary’s house he sees skid marks in the road and suddenly his world comes crashing in around him. He realizes that the dream he had of Mary’s newspaper covered walls wasn’t a dream at all…it was his fuzzy, disjointed, hung-over recollection of the events of the night before. He had crashed through Mary’s shack driving home.

    When he says, “that which you fear the most can meet you halfway” he is talking about death. Death met him halfway…he didn’t die, but he took another life with his drunk driving from the night before. As a grown man, he will never get over this…and we realize the tragedy of the song/story.
    Flag Taylor410on November 04, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:i see what everyone's saying, but here are some differences i see:

    "that what you fear the most, could meet you halfway"
    -this i believe is talking about death, and if mary was middle aged, then death met her half way, through life.

    after that, the narrator continues the chorus, saying "take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around", as if a last toast to mary.

    just a few opinions.
    Flag Backspaceron August 02, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The song that David Allen Coe sings was actual written by Chicago song writer Michael Smith. The late Steve Goodman also performed this song on a live album. The possibility of a connection is interesting. Maybe.
    Flag frogpondon January 19, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I don't know if there is a connection or not, but: David Allen Coe wrote a song a long time ago called Crazy Mary which is similar in tone if not in direct meaning. Espescially the deal with cars and possible prostitution or something like that. Jethro Tull also did "Crosseyed Mary" which is definitely about a prostitute. Are the songs linked? Is inspiration borrowed here? IDK.
    Flag iago5150on July 05, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i like the live in seattle bootleg where they play "Stairway to Heaven" in the bridge.
    Flag jaredwbowmanon November 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:eddie thinks he is bruce springsteen simple as with these lyrics,good song though
    Flag ronaldo6on March 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is the craziest song I've heard live from PJ.
    I saw them in Montreal, 2006/09/15 and it was amazing. Boom's solo was superb and the crowd went crazy. Beautiful song...
    Flag QuebecGuy777on January 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is even better than Victoria Williams' version, probably because of the long (but awesome) guitar solo. One of their famous concert songs, and it's not even theirs.
    Flag T-Crashon May 14, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:and thats victoria williams (who wrote the song...) singing back up vocals you fucking assholes... lets hear you do better... yeah.. not hearing it.
    Flag j.enslowon March 19, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is definitely about the rememberances of a drunk driver
    Flag j.enslowon March 19, 2006   Link

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