I think the meaning of this song has been mostly fleshed-out over the course of the comments, but I wanted to add one thing. I've seen a lot of comments about the "Mary, ain't you tired of this?" line being in reference to the Virgin Mary (as someone here aptly wrote, "the most famous virgin in history"). However, let us not forget that there's another Mary (from the very same book, no less) who is perhaps the most famous whore in history! Mary Magdalene has been traditionally miscast a prostitute who, after meeting Jesus, reforms her ways and joins him as a disciple. Now, put that in the context of this song:
"Mary, ain't you tired of this?"
The speaker (could be Francis as Jesus at this point) is saying "Mary, aren't you tired of the casual meaningless sex? Aren't tired of being a whore? Change your ways and be with me."
The speaker is comparing himself to Mary Magdalene because he has met the girl that he wants to be with (been tryin' to meet you), but knows that his lifestyle (his whores) are preventing him from being with her (a devil between us, or whores in my bed). Despite calling the girls he sleeps with "whores" throughout the song, it is actually the speaker that is the whore!
Pretty amazing that Black Francis has the lyrical ability to write a song comparing a man's love for a particular woman to Mary Magdalene's love for Jesus, all while filling it with sexual imagery, grunts, and one of the best guitar riffs and solos in history.
@Saxydude Created an account just for this. This is spot on. It’s a back and forth convo between Jesus and MM. Jesus says the opening line and MM responds. The whores are her “customers/coworkers”. Jesus had been trying to meet her, and vice versa. The “sound a mother makes when a baby breaks”…..Holy Grail Holy Blood book came out in ‘82, promoting the idea Jesus and MM had a child. Prime reading selection for college kids in 83-84. “If you go I will surely die” “Uh to the man she adored” again from MM to Jesus. The song is a...
@Saxydude Created an account just for this. This is spot on. It’s a back and forth convo between Jesus and MM. Jesus says the opening line and MM responds. The whores are her “customers/coworkers”. Jesus had been trying to meet her, and vice versa. The “sound a mother makes when a baby breaks”…..Holy Grail Holy Blood book came out in ‘82, promoting the idea Jesus and MM had a child. Prime reading selection for college kids in 83-84. “If you go I will surely die” “Uh to the man she adored” again from MM to Jesus. The song is a simple “love story” with serious depth. Possible with a double meaning about how males sometimes view females and how males want to save them.
I think the meaning of this song has been mostly fleshed-out over the course of the comments, but I wanted to add one thing. I've seen a lot of comments about the "Mary, ain't you tired of this?" line being in reference to the Virgin Mary (as someone here aptly wrote, "the most famous virgin in history"). However, let us not forget that there's another Mary (from the very same book, no less) who is perhaps the most famous whore in history! Mary Magdalene has been traditionally miscast a prostitute who, after meeting Jesus, reforms her ways and joins him as a disciple. Now, put that in the context of this song:
"Mary, ain't you tired of this?" The speaker (could be Francis as Jesus at this point) is saying "Mary, aren't you tired of the casual meaningless sex? Aren't tired of being a whore? Change your ways and be with me."
The speaker is comparing himself to Mary Magdalene because he has met the girl that he wants to be with (been tryin' to meet you), but knows that his lifestyle (his whores) are preventing him from being with her (a devil between us, or whores in my bed). Despite calling the girls he sleeps with "whores" throughout the song, it is actually the speaker that is the whore!
Pretty amazing that Black Francis has the lyrical ability to write a song comparing a man's love for a particular woman to Mary Magdalene's love for Jesus, all while filling it with sexual imagery, grunts, and one of the best guitar riffs and solos in history.
@Saxydude I love it! This makes the most sense to me.
@Saxydude I love it! This makes the most sense to me.
@Saxydude I thought it was obvious..
@Saxydude I thought it was obvious..
@Saxydude Created an account just for this. This is spot on. It’s a back and forth convo between Jesus and MM. Jesus says the opening line and MM responds. The whores are her “customers/coworkers”. Jesus had been trying to meet her, and vice versa. The “sound a mother makes when a baby breaks”…..Holy Grail Holy Blood book came out in ‘82, promoting the idea Jesus and MM had a child. Prime reading selection for college kids in 83-84. “If you go I will surely die” “Uh to the man she adored” again from MM to Jesus. The song is a...
@Saxydude Created an account just for this. This is spot on. It’s a back and forth convo between Jesus and MM. Jesus says the opening line and MM responds. The whores are her “customers/coworkers”. Jesus had been trying to meet her, and vice versa. The “sound a mother makes when a baby breaks”…..Holy Grail Holy Blood book came out in ‘82, promoting the idea Jesus and MM had a child. Prime reading selection for college kids in 83-84. “If you go I will surely die” “Uh to the man she adored” again from MM to Jesus. The song is a simple “love story” with serious depth. Possible with a double meaning about how males sometimes view females and how males want to save them.