In regards to the meaning of this song:
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.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
She's skilled at the art of deception and she knows it
She's got dirty money that she plays with all the time
Yeah, she waters the garden and maybe she just likes the hoses
She puts herself just a notch above human kind
Ah, Mary
She'll bake you cookies then she'll burn your town
Ah, Mary
Ashes, ashes but she won't fall down
She's the beat of my heart
She's the shot of a gun
She'll be the end of me
And maybe everyone
Yeah, she's the beat of my heart
She's the shot of a gun
She'll be the end of me
And maybe everyone
Call her a bully, she'll blow up your whole damn playground
Pour her a drink and watch it go straight to her head
She'll take you so high up and cover her eyes as you fall down
Then in the morning, don't be surprised if you're dead
Ah, Mary
She'll bake you cookies then she'll burn your town
Ah, Mary
Ashes, ashes but she won't fall down
She's the beat of my heart
She's the shot of a gun
She'll be the end of me
And maybe everyone
She's the beat of my heart
She's the shot of a gun
She'll be the end of me
And maybe everyone, oh, Mary
Yeah, she's the beat of my heart
She's the shot of a gun
She'll be the end of me
And maybe everyone
Ah, Mary, Mary, Mary, America
Ah, Mary, Mary, Mary, America
Oh, America
She's got dirty money that she plays with all the time
Yeah, she waters the garden and maybe she just likes the hoses
She puts herself just a notch above human kind
Ah, Mary
She'll bake you cookies then she'll burn your town
Ah, Mary
Ashes, ashes but she won't fall down
She's the beat of my heart
She's the shot of a gun
She'll be the end of me
And maybe everyone
Yeah, she's the beat of my heart
She's the shot of a gun
She'll be the end of me
And maybe everyone
Call her a bully, she'll blow up your whole damn playground
Pour her a drink and watch it go straight to her head
She'll take you so high up and cover her eyes as you fall down
Then in the morning, don't be surprised if you're dead
Ah, Mary
She'll bake you cookies then she'll burn your town
Ah, Mary
Ashes, ashes but she won't fall down
She's the beat of my heart
She's the shot of a gun
She'll be the end of me
And maybe everyone
She's the beat of my heart
She's the shot of a gun
She'll be the end of me
And maybe everyone, oh, Mary
Yeah, she's the beat of my heart
She's the shot of a gun
She'll be the end of me
And maybe everyone
Ah, Mary, Mary, Mary, America
Ah, Mary, Mary, Mary, America
Oh, America
Lyrics submitted by luisazavich
Ah Mary Lyrics as written by Grace Potter
Lyrics © Walt Disney Music Company
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
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This song is clever and political; somewhere GP claims to have never ventured before in song. My favorite part of the song is when she sings, ever so coolly, “Ah, Mary, she’ll bake you cookies then she’ll burn your town.” Before I looked up the lyrics, I thought she sang “tongue” instead of “town”. Either way, she gets her point across. Another bit that gives her stance away is at the end when she sings, “Ah, Mary, Mary, Mary, America.” I love how the words connect. Ah-Mary, America. It is the simple profoundness only a classic rocker can achieve.
clearly this song is about the apparent friendly status out put by the U.S but ... she'll burn your town, ... a very good polictical song i think
OK now I get it - thought the song was about a girl who seems friendly and harmless on the outside but is really deceptive and power-hungry on the inside. But the whole thing is really a metaphor for American politics = Ah Mary - America = clever. Meaning aside, this song rocks and needs more attention. She reminds me a little of Sheryl Crow but a little edgier, at least in the song.
... to be completely honest when I first heard this song on the radio I thought it was about a woman (the narrator) in love with a hard core dyke (the subject). I guess it was because of the lines "She's the beat of my heart, she's the shot of a gun. She'll be the enemy of everyone." (That last one is what I thought it was.) I didn't have anything against that because I'm part of the whole LGBTQ rainbow and I was like "Rock on, sister, rock on!"<br /> <br /> Now I read the real lyrics ... oh misconceptions. Ah, mary...<br /> <br /> I'm just going to agree with the previous posts. It is a pretty obvious it's about America. "She's the beat of my heart," not necessarily a love thing, just... we live here and obtain our livin' from here. From work to food to...etc... (even though everything is made in china.)
I don't understand why my post was done as a reply to someone else's?
I didn't mean for that to happen, I just don't understand how this site works.
Whatever.
The metaphor of the United States as a femme fatale casually sowing destruction in her wake is an apt one, reflecting the often schizophrenic foreign policy of the US. Most will miss the reference to “the hoses” as implements of torture.