The Wind Cries Mary
Jimmy Hendrix Lyrics
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And the clowns have all gone to bed
You can hear happiness staggering on down the street
Footprints dressed in red
And the wind whispers, "Mary"
A broom is drearily sweeping
Somewhere, a queen is weeping
Somewhere, a king has no wife
And the wind, it cries, "Mary"
The traffic lights, they turn blue tomorrow
And shine their emptiness down on my bed
The tiny island sags downstream
'Cause the life that lived is dead
And the wind screams, "Mary"
Will the wind ever remember
The names it has blown in the past?
And with this crutch, its old age and its wisdom
It whispers, "No, this will be the last"
And the wind cries, "Mary"
The Wind Cries Mary is a melancholic song written and performed by Jimi Hendrix in 1967. It is said that the song was inspired by a time when Jimi had a fight with his girlfriend in which she threw all his clothes out of the window. The lyrics portray a sense of loss and sorrow, with the imagery of broken pieces of yesterday's life being swept up, and the realization that happiness is stumbling down the street, shown by footprints dressed in red. The chorus of the song repeats a phrase of the wind crying Mary, which is often interpreted as a metaphor for the voice of the universe, trying to make sense of the chaotic world.
The song's verses are interspersed with a refrain of the wind whispering or crying Mary, which according to Jimi was inspired by a picture he saw of a graffitied-up brick wall in London with the word "Mary" painted on it. He was drawn to it and it ended up inspiring him to write the song. The lyrics are cryptic and often carry a deeper meaning, such as the line "Will the wind remember the names it has blown in the past." This line may be interpreted in different ways, such as the idea that the universe remembers everything, or that memories and experiences seem to get lost in the wind.
Line by Line Meaning
After all the jacks are in their boxes
Once all of the toys and games are put away for the night
And the clowns have all gone to bed
And the show is over, finished for the evening
You can hear happiness staggering on down the street
Despite the end of the celebration, you can still hear people stumbling home happily
Footprints dressed in red
Evidence of the lively festivities can be seen in the stains on the ground from people's shoes
And the wind whispers, "Mary"
The stillness of the night makes it easy to hear the sound of the wind, which is addressed by name, Mary
A broom is drearily sweeping
Someone is cleaning up or doing a chore, but appears to be tired of it
Up the broken pieces of yesterday's life
They are tidying up fragments of what happened the day before, a metaphor for moving on
Somewhere, a queen is weeping
A woman of high status is crying
Somewhere, a king has no wife
A man of high status is alone, without a partner
And the wind, it cries, "Mary"
The wind is making a sorrowful noise, still mentioning the name Mary
The traffic lights, they turn blue tomorrow
The upcoming day is bleak and unwelcome, as symbolized by the blue hue of the signal lights
And shine their emptiness down on my bed
The artist is lying in bed, but the only thing illuminating it is the cold light of the traffic signal
The tiny island sags downstream
A small piece of land is being carried away by a body of water
'Cause the life that lived is dead
The singer is regretting the loss of something that was once alive, but is now gone
And the wind screams, "Mary"
The wind picks up and sounds more upset than before, still naming Mary
Will the wind ever remember
The names it has blown in the past?
The artist is questioning whether the wind has any memory of the things it has touched before
And with this crutch, its old age and its wisdom
It whispers, "No, this will be the last"
The wind responds sarcastically, claiming that its own age and experience prevent it from remembering all of the things it has affected
And the wind cries, "Mary"
The song ends as it began, with the wind calling out to Mary
Contributed by Kennedy D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.