I've always been a fan of this song and album. This album is more like folk in some ways than beer drinking country that you expect from DAC. To me this song is about being a young boy and teasing an older woman that's obviously struggling with mental illness. When you're young you'll believe almost anything, we were all extremely gullible once and some still are I suppose. I feel like wild stories had been spread about this woman who probably kept to herself and couldn't defend herself verbally or she didn't even understand that she was being made fun of. Kids love to be cruel and put down anyone (especially those that can't fight back) just for kicks. He and his friends so hurtful things and runoff laughing while Crazy Mary has no idea what's even going on. In their mind she's casting spells and wants to do them harm, while in reality she's doing well to just coexist in a cruel world. The last verse leads you to believe that she had been taken advantage of by men that promised her a monogamous relationship or marriage and then they wronged her. Possibly all of that trauma caused her mental problems and now the sons of those men were teasing her almost like a sick joke coming full circle. A very deep song indeed that really makes you think and that's what I love about music. The meaning isn't always obvious, it's up to the listener to decide and use their imagination.
I've always been a fan of this song and album. This album is more like folk in some ways than beer drinking country that you expect from DAC. To me this song is about being a young boy and teasing an older woman that's obviously struggling with mental illness. When you're young you'll believe almost anything, we were all extremely gullible once and some still are I suppose. I feel like wild stories had been spread about this woman who probably kept to herself and couldn't defend herself verbally or she didn't even understand that she was being made fun of. Kids love to be cruel and put down anyone (especially those that can't fight back) just for kicks. He and his friends so hurtful things and runoff laughing while Crazy Mary has no idea what's even going on. In their mind she's casting spells and wants to do them harm, while in reality she's doing well to just coexist in a cruel world. The last verse leads you to believe that she had been taken advantage of by men that promised her a monogamous relationship or marriage and then they wronged her. Possibly all of that trauma caused her mental problems and now the sons of those men were teasing her almost like a sick joke coming full circle. A very deep song indeed that really makes you think and that's what I love about music. The meaning isn't always obvious, it's up to the listener to decide and use their imagination.