This is such a tragic song, and it's meaning is pretty self-explanatory. I do feel though that there is a sense of mocking in this song, although I'm not sure if this is to do with the context of the Murder Ballads album being all about humour.
Still, I think if we take it as being mocking, it becomes a lot more interesting. The character of Mary Bellows insists that she is 'a good girl,' but then, for no reason, decides to undo the latch on her door, allowing her killer to enter. It just seems so out of character and stupid, that perhaps Nick is mocking the final message of the song, which is for mothers to keep their girls at home.
Aside from the randomness of Mary's decision to open the door, I can't find anything lyrically in the song to suggest this idea, but I do think Nick's delivery sounds deliberately gloomy, like he is parodying this, very traditional form of song writing, rather than embracing it and its ideals.
This is such a tragic song, and it's meaning is pretty self-explanatory. I do feel though that there is a sense of mocking in this song, although I'm not sure if this is to do with the context of the Murder Ballads album being all about humour.
Still, I think if we take it as being mocking, it becomes a lot more interesting. The character of Mary Bellows insists that she is 'a good girl,' but then, for no reason, decides to undo the latch on her door, allowing her killer to enter. It just seems so out of character and stupid, that perhaps Nick is mocking the final message of the song, which is for mothers to keep their girls at home.
Aside from the randomness of Mary's decision to open the door, I can't find anything lyrically in the song to suggest this idea, but I do think Nick's delivery sounds deliberately gloomy, like he is parodying this, very traditional form of song writing, rather than embracing it and its ideals.