its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
She grew up in an Indiana town
Had a good lookin' mama who never was around
But she grew up tall and she grew up right
With them Indiana boys on an Indiana night
Well, she moved down here at the age of eighteen
She blew the boys away, it was more than they'd seen
I was introduced and we both started groovin'
She said, "I dig you, baby, but I got to keep movin' on, keep movin' on"
Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin' in and I'm tired of this town again
Well, I don't know but I've been told
You never slow down, you never grow old
I'm tired of screwing up, tired of goin' down
Tired of myself, tired of this town
Oh, my, my, oh, hell yes
Honey, put on that party dress
Buy me a drink, sing me a song
Take me as I come 'cause I can't stay long
Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin' in and I'm tired of this town again
There's pigeons down on Market Square
She's standin' in her underwear
Lookin' down from a hotel room
The nightfall will be comin' soon
Oh, my, my, oh, hell yes
You've got to put on that party dress
It was too cold to cry when I woke up alone
I hit the last number, I walked to the road
Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin' in and I'm tired of this town again
Had a good lookin' mama who never was around
But she grew up tall and she grew up right
With them Indiana boys on an Indiana night
Well, she moved down here at the age of eighteen
She blew the boys away, it was more than they'd seen
I was introduced and we both started groovin'
She said, "I dig you, baby, but I got to keep movin' on, keep movin' on"
Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin' in and I'm tired of this town again
Well, I don't know but I've been told
You never slow down, you never grow old
I'm tired of screwing up, tired of goin' down
Tired of myself, tired of this town
Oh, my, my, oh, hell yes
Honey, put on that party dress
Buy me a drink, sing me a song
Take me as I come 'cause I can't stay long
Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin' in and I'm tired of this town again
There's pigeons down on Market Square
She's standin' in her underwear
Lookin' down from a hotel room
The nightfall will be comin' soon
Oh, my, my, oh, hell yes
You've got to put on that party dress
It was too cold to cry when I woke up alone
I hit the last number, I walked to the road
Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin' in and I'm tired of this town again
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Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
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I think the song is almost exactly the opposite of what most people think it is -a woman being used as a metaphor for a drug. Rather it strikes me more as a drug being used as a metaphor for a woman. Mary Jane is a very common term for marijuana and he outright states that he's using it in the last verse "I hit my last number, walked to the road" (A "number" is an older slang for a joint).
So the girl, who he names "Mary Jane" is something else -mind-altering, like drugs. It may be just me but I've always read the second verse from the girl's point of view. Everything he says about her suggests that she moves around a lot and never stays in one place too long. The "last dance" is of course the last time they have sex, again she's described in drug-like terms "one more time to kill the pain" By the end of the song, he realizes she's gone, and is using the "mary jane" to dull his feelings for "Mary Jane".
Might not be right but it's as good as any explanation.