Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Oh Mary was unhappy with the life that she led
She was a simple girl without much to say
So one day she upped and left her dreary home
And she left all her friends to wander all alone
And at first she was afraid, she was so far away
From her home but slowly she got to like it anyway
Oh Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Well in time she found
That mountain that she had been taught
Her whole life, that she must avoid
And though at first it hurt, and no one could comfort her
She finally came to appreciate it
And she liked it, she liked it--oh wasn't she surprised
And though still alone, she grew so much inside
Oh Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
And after a time, she became so sublime
She could look in people's eyes and read their minds
Though her hands would sometimes bleed and occasionally
She would long for her past and the memories they bring
She decided to return to her old home town
And her heart was burning with all the things she found
Oh Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Please come home
So Mary came back and at first no one recognized her face
And her friends were all a little bit afraid
When they heard what she had to say
They all slowly backed away
And her family took her aside and put their arms around her
They said:
Mary, won't you please come back to us now
There is still time to repent for all your sins
And Mary started to cry when she realized
That she'd never come home again in her life
Oh Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Please come home
Come home, yeah yeah yeah
Come home, home
Come home, yeah yeah yeah
Come home, yeah yeah yeah
Come home, home
Come home, yeah yeah yeah
Come home, yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah....
She was a simple girl without much to say
So one day she upped and left her dreary home
And she left all her friends to wander all alone
And at first she was afraid, she was so far away
From her home but slowly she got to like it anyway
Oh Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Well in time she found
That mountain that she had been taught
Her whole life, that she must avoid
And though at first it hurt, and no one could comfort her
She finally came to appreciate it
And she liked it, she liked it--oh wasn't she surprised
And though still alone, she grew so much inside
Oh Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
And after a time, she became so sublime
She could look in people's eyes and read their minds
Though her hands would sometimes bleed and occasionally
She would long for her past and the memories they bring
She decided to return to her old home town
And her heart was burning with all the things she found
Oh Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Please come home
So Mary came back and at first no one recognized her face
And her friends were all a little bit afraid
When they heard what she had to say
They all slowly backed away
And her family took her aside and put their arms around her
They said:
Mary, won't you please come back to us now
There is still time to repent for all your sins
And Mary started to cry when she realized
That she'd never come home again in her life
Oh Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Mary won't you please come
Please come home
Come home, yeah yeah yeah
Come home, home
Come home, yeah yeah yeah
Come home, yeah yeah yeah
Come home, home
Come home, yeah yeah yeah
Come home, yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah....
Lyrics submitted by Tomis Grey
Mary Lyrics as written by Danny Elfman
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I personally feel that Mary leaves home, attains enlightenment, and becomes the new Messiah. Not Christian or any specific Messiah--just an enlightened person (I get this from the 'though her hands would sometimes bleed'--that's stigmata). I also get this feeling from 'though it hurt at first/and no one could comfort her' because spiritual enlightenment seems like a hard and painful thing to do.
I would think it's about drugs or prostitution--if there weren't lines like 'and she grew so much inside.' When singing about drugs, you usually don't mention someone's spiritual growth. The lines 'and her family took her aside and put their arms around her/They said/Mary, won't you please come back to us now/There is still time to repent for all your sins' also seem to cast sympathy on Mary rather than the plight of her family and friends.
It has a somewhat melancholy tune, which makes one think it's from the POV of Mary herself reminiscing about her past.
I suppose Mary doesn't have to be a Messiah--she could be any girl who leaves home and gains some sort of knowledge about herself. She could be a lesbian, a magician, even a scientist because of how vague the metaphor is. I just don't think this is really about Mary's 'downfall' per se.