From the recording Land Of The Living (2001)
(capo 4)
Written on the same afternoon that “The Last Frontier” was completed: June 24, 1999 in the mountains of beautiful Weaverville, NC. Whereas “Frontier” took me a month to write, “Mary” took me a little under 2 hours to complete from start to finish. I treasure the songs that seem to write themselves. This one was no exception and remains a pleasure to play. It started innocently enough with the syncopated guitar strums (hammering on & off) and a memorable chord progression. The words soon followed: “Mary come to me, bring our favorite wine, da da da …….” . Not sure where the topical idea came from other than that it seems that songs about prison, murder and death seem to strike a responsive chord in us all. Many have asked me if this song is about Mary the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. My Mary is the wife of a convicted man sentenced to die for his crime while the biblical Mary was the mother of a convicted man as well. However, in this scenario one is guilty while the other was not.
Lyrics
Mary (A Husband's Lament)
mary come to me
bring our favorite wine
I might be losing my sanity
but I’ve got nothing but thinking time
mary come to me
please wear my favorite dress
mercy, here, is a welcome word
but one I can’t accept
mary wring my hands
they’re stained with another man’s blood
I ran far and I ran wide
but the guilt was just too much
mary do me one last thing
sing to me that song
where our eyes meet those of Jesus’
and He forgives me of my wrongs
mary how I worry about our darling little ones
mary promise you won’t tell them what their papa’s done
mary come to see me, pour a little wine
it’s not so much I’m thirsty but just to look into your eyes
mary it’s lonely here
we’re chained and left for dead
past the fence of a hardened heart
is the concrete in my head
mary turn your head
we’ll both close our eyes
I want to be strong right now
but I’m so afraid to die
mary how I worry about our darling little ones
mary promise you won’t tell them what their papa’s done
mary come to see me, pour a little wine
it’s not so much I’m thirsty but just to look into your eyes