This song is about Mary and the destructive relationship Billy had with her. In the song Life With Lions he's singing about how he doesn't like who he is when he's with her which I think goes with the line, "And there's you A little black cloud in a dress". The relationship brought people around them down. She was a black cloud around him, made him depressed. At one point Billy bought Mary a ring and Mary thought or assumed he was asking her to marry him, they became engaged very quickly in a kind of accidental crazy way. "And now the bells across the river chime out your name I look across to them again." I think this song is very much about their quick engagement. "And on that imperfect day We threw it all away Crisis after crisis With such intensity." Calling off the engagement after all the drama and arguing. "And when I see you You just turn around and walk away like we never met" It was said that Mary threw the Workers Playtime album off the Hammerstein bridge after she heard it when it was released.
This song is about Mary and the destructive relationship Billy had with her. In the song Life With Lions he's singing about how he doesn't like who he is when he's with her which I think goes with the line, "And there's you A little black cloud in a dress". The relationship brought people around them down. She was a black cloud around him, made him depressed. At one point Billy bought Mary a ring and Mary thought or assumed he was asking her to marry him, they became engaged very quickly in a kind of accidental crazy way. "And now the bells across the river chime out your name I look across to them again." I think this song is very much about their quick engagement. "And on that imperfect day We threw it all away Crisis after crisis With such intensity." Calling off the engagement after all the drama and arguing. "And when I see you You just turn around and walk away like we never met" It was said that Mary threw the Workers Playtime album off the Hammerstein bridge after she heard it when it was released.