Mary Lou Lord (born March 1, 1965 in Salem, Massachusetts) is an indie/folk… Read Full Bio ↴Mary Lou Lord (born March 1, 1965 in Salem, Massachusetts) is an indie/folk rock musician, busker and recording artist.

Mary Lou Lord first gained notice playing acoustic guitar and singing in and around Boston subway stations (particularly on the Red Line, as noted by the name she chose for her music and lyric publishing company, On the Red Line Music.)

She has claimed that she had a romantic relationship with Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain before the group's rise to mainstream fame. This claim was disputed by some, including Cobain himself, though it has been suggested that Cobain's wife Courtney Love made him publicly lie about his past relationships to prove his devotion to her. In 1994, Lord showed up uninvited at a party for Courtney Love's band Hole, which ended with Love chasing Lord down Sunset Strip.

Lord toured three separate times with Elliott Smith during the 1990s. He also wrote and helped Lord record a song called, "I Figured You Out", in 1997. Smith would later say that, "I gave that song away 'cause I thought it sounded like The Eagles and that it sucked."

Her recordings have been a mixture of covers (including songs by Elliott Smith and Richard Thompson) and original material, with a number of songs written by, or in collaboration with, Nick Saloman of the British band The Bevis Frond.

Her recording of Daniel Johnston's "Speeding Motorcycle" (which was originally featured on her self-titled 8-song Kill Rock Stars release) was featured in commercials for Target stores, after which her label reissued the song as the lead-off track of a CD single which also included two demo recordings from the sessions for Got No Shadow.

In 2001, Lord released Live City Sounds. This was a self-released disc of Mary Lou playing live in the Boston subway. The disc was later re-released after Mary Lou signed to Rubric Records.

She announced in 2005 that she suffered from a rare vocal chord affliction known as spasmodic dysphonia. She thereafter became more involved in A&R work and started Jittery Jack Management with her husband, Kevin Patey.

Western Union Desperate
Mary Lou Lord Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I felt a little uneasy on easy street
out of place and incomplete
call it guilt call it what you will

kissed goodbye the summer skies
hollywood and malibu tides
through thick and thin you got a good friend in me

just give me a beer and give me a bed
chase the demons out of my head
play me a song and sing me to sleep
and meet me in the middle of my dreams

well i've seen the sun rise from the cliffs of point reyes
and i've seen it set on thunder bay
but i always keep my compass set on you
when the night comes in and the stars come out
and the highway lines start to wear me out
it'll be ok cause i'm coming back home to you

distant salutation and silly souveniers
can't help your twilight loneliness or brush away your tears
i'll wire you some love today
there's so much more i want to say
i'm western union desperate in a payphone in the rain
and it's so insane... i'm rimbaud and you're verlaine

so hey, california here i come
i've got a backpack and a sunburnt thumb

i hope my compass is tried and true
cause when i need a friend it's still you...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Mary Lou Lord's "Western Union Desperate" express a longing for a sense of belonging and a place to call home. The singer feels out of place on "easy street" and seeks comfort in familiar places, such as Hollywood and Malibu, where they have fond memories. Despite feeling lost, the singer believes that they have someone they can always rely on, singing "through thick and thin you got a good friend in me." The singer seeks escape from their inner demons, asking for a beer and a bed to “play me a song and sing me to sleep and meet me in the middle of my dreams”.

Line by Line Meaning

I felt a little uneasy on easy street
I found myself feeling uncomfortable in a situation where everything should be easy and straightforward.

out of place and incomplete
I felt like I didn't belong and that something was missing.

call it guilt call it what you will
Whether it's guilt or something else causing my unease, I can't exactly pinpoint the feeling.

kissed goodbye the summer skies
I said goodbye to the carefree days of summer.

hollywood and malibu tides
The fun and excitement of Hollywood and Malibu are no longer part of my daily life.

through thick and thin you got a good friend in me
No matter what happens, I know I can count on you to be there for me.

just give me a beer and give me a bed
All I need is a place to rest and something to help me relax, like a beer.

chase the demons out of my head
I'm hoping that by relaxing and taking a break from my troubles, I'll be able to clear my mind and feel better.

play me a song and sing me to sleep
Music has always been a comfort to me, and I'm hoping that it will help me relax and fall asleep.

and meet me in the middle of my dreams
As I drift off to sleep, I hope that you'll be there with me, even if it's just in my dreams.

well i've seen the sun rise from the cliffs of point reyes
I've experienced some truly beautiful moments in life, like watching the sunrise from the cliffs of Point Reyes.

and i've seen it set on thunder bay
I've also seen the sun set on Thunder Bay, another beautiful experience.

but i always keep my compass set on you
Despite all the amazing things I've seen and done, my heart always leads me back to you.

when the night comes in and the stars come out
As the day comes to an end and the night sky appears, I still think of you.

and the highway lines start to wear me out
Traveling can be exhausting, but I keep going because I'm determined to see you again.

it'll be ok cause i'm coming back home to you
No matter how tough the journey gets, I know it will be worth it when I finally come home to you.

distant salutation and silly souveniers
When I'm far away, I can only send you greetings and small gifts that may seem insignificant.

can't help your twilight loneliness or brush away your tears
I wish I could be there to comfort you when you're feeling down, but all I can do is send my love from afar.

i'll wire you some love today
Despite the distance, I want you to know that I'm thinking of you and sending all my love your way.

there's so much more i want to say
I wish I could express all the things that are in my heart, but sometimes words fall short.

i'm western union desperate in a payphone in the rain
I'm doing everything I can to reach out to you, including using a payphone in the rain to wire you some love.

and it's so insane... i'm rimbaud and you're verlaine
Despite the craziness of our situation, I still feel a deep connection to you, as if we're two famous poets who understood each other intimately.

so hey, california here i come
I'm on my way back to California to be with you.

i've got a backpack and a sunburnt thumb
All I have with me is a backpack and a sunburn, but that's enough as long as I'm with you.

i hope my compass is tried and true
I hope my heart is leading me in the right direction, back to you.

cause when i need a friend it's still you...
No matter what happens, I know that you'll always be the one I turn to for support and comfort.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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