Dokken was initially composed of founder Don Dokken on vocals, George Lynch on lead guitar, Juan Croucier on bass, and Mick Brown on drums. The southern California group pursued a heavy yet melodic sound reminiscent of prior bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, finding success in the 80s hard rock and metal boom. The band recorded and released 'Breaking the Chains', their first studio album, in 1983. Though their fortunes struggled somewhat in the United States, they picked up a big popular response in Europe.
In 1984, Croucier left Dokken in order to join Ratt. He was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Jeff Pilson, who soon became a rock idol alongside Don Dokken and George Lynch. Their next several albums and singles showed them to be a powerful commercial force, particularly winning fans with their music videos (their one for "Dream Warriors" even featured the band facing off against Freddy Krueger himself). Their 1988 live album 'Beast from the East' earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance as well. However, Don Dokken's and George Lynch's creative differences, as well as their growing personal conflicts, brought about tension and even caused the group to break-up in 1988, though they had released multi-platinum work appealing to numerous hard rockers and metalheads.
The band has faced many changes over the years since. It wasn't until 1995 that the group resurfaced and released new material, facing a rather tepid response. As time went on, only Dokken and Brown remained from the original line-up. After several personnel alterations on guitar, Dokken's former attorney Jon Levin even stepped in to fill the role in 2004. In 2009, Sean McNabb (formerly of Great White and Quiet Riot fame) took the bass guitar slot. Mark Boals (formely of Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force) then took McNabb's position in 2014.
A series of successful web commercials for Norton Internet Security 2010 put the group back in the spotlight, the comedic spots depicting the band as a malicious computer virus. Dokken's tenth studio album, titled 'Lightning Strikes Again', was released on May 13, 2008 via Rhino Records. Several critics recommended the work as a comeback to their 'classic' sound. Their 11th album was released in 2012, 'Broken Bones'.
In 2023, Dokken, now consisting of frontman and founder Don Dokken, guitarist Jon Levin, bassist Chris McGarvill and drummer BJ Zampa, unveiled 12th album, 'Heaven Comes Down', which will be released via Silver Lining Music on October 27, 2023.
Crazy Mary Goes Round
Dokken Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And she looks pretty good to me
My friends all say that you better watch out
There's a side of her you haven't seen
Still I took a ride / it was late at night
We were cruising along on her motorbike
Everything was right / til crazy mary went down
So let me tell you about mary
Let me tell you about mary
[mary] crazy mary goes round and round
Round and round
Called my doctor and I tried to explain
'cause it didn't make sense to me
Seven different sides and I've seen them all
One for everyday of the week
She gave me a scare / she was combing her hair
A long conversation there was nobody there
Does anybody know / what mary's talking about
So let me tell you about mary
[mary] crazy mary goes round
Let me tell you about mary
[mary] crazy mary goes round
So let me tell you about mary
[mary] crazy mary goes round and round
Round and round
[mary] crazy mary goes round
Funny thing about mary
[mary] crazy mary goes round and round
Round and round
Round and round
Upside down
The song "Crazy Mary Goes Round" by Dokken is a story about the lead singer's experience with a girl next door named Mary. The song starts by describing Mary's appearance, a pretty girl wearing a leather coat. But the singer's friends warn him that there is a darker side to Mary, a side that he hasn't seen. Ignoring their warnings, he takes a ride with her on a motorcycle late at night, and everything seems alright until "crazy Mary went down."
The singer then proceeds to describe the seven different sides of Mary that he has seen, one for every day of the week. He mentions an incident where Mary was combing her hair and having a long conversation with nobody there. Confused and scared, the singer calls his doctor to explain Mary's behavior, but it doesn't make sense to him.
Overall, the song is a warning about getting involved with someone who has hidden sides, as it can lead to confusion and chaos. "Crazy Mary Goes Round" is a cautionary tale that reminds us that things aren't always as they seem, and we should be careful before getting involved with anyone.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a girl next door with a leather coat
There's an attractive girl living close by with a leather coat
And she looks pretty good to me
I find her physically attractive
My friends all say that you better watch out
My friends warn me about her
There's a side of her you haven't seen
She has a hidden side to her personality
Still I took a ride / it was late at night
I took a ride with her on her motorcycle at night
We were cruising along on her motorbike
We were driving on her motorcycle
Everything was right / til crazy mary went down
Everything was going well until something happened to Mary
So let me tell you about mary
I'm going to talk about Mary
[mary] crazy mary goes round
Mary's behavior is erratic and unpredictable
Called my doctor and I tried to explain
I called my doctor and attempted to describe the situation
'cause it didn't make sense to me
Because I couldn't understand what was happening
Seven different sides and I've seen them all
I've witnessed Mary display seven different personalities
One for everyday of the week
She has a different personality for each day of the week
She gave me a scare / she was combing her hair
She frightened me when she was just combing her hair
A long conversation there was nobody there
She had a lengthy discussion with no one present
Does anybody know / what mary's talking about
Does anyone understand what Mary is saying?
So let me tell you about mary
I'm going to talk about Mary again
So let me tell you about mary
Mary is still unpredictable
[mary] crazy mary goes round and round
Mary's behavior is circular and repetitive
Round and round
Repeating indefinitely
[mary] crazy mary goes round
Mary's behavior is still erratic and unpredictable
Funny thing about mary
Something curious about Mary
[mary] crazy mary goes round and round
Mary's behavior is still circular and repetitive
Round and round
Continuously repeating
Round and round
Iterating endlessly
Upside down
Chaos and confusion
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, A SIDE MUSIC LLC D/B/A MODERN WORKS MUSIC PUBLISHING, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: DON DOKKEN, JEFF PILSON, MICK BROWN, RICHARD E BEACH JR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind