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.
You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Mary Lou Lord Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's never been this close before
Never been so easy or so slow
Been shooting in the dark too long
When somethin′s not right it's wrong
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go
Dragon clouds so high above
It′s always hit me from below
This time around it′s more correct
Right on target, so direct
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go
Purple clover, Queen Anne's Lace
Crimson hair across your face
You could make me cry if you don′t know
Can't remember what I was thinkin′ of
You might be spoilin' me too much, love
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go
Flowers on the hillside, bloomin′ crazy
Crickets talkin' back and forth in rhyme
Blue river runnin' slow and lazy
I could stay with you forever and never realize the time
Situations have ended sad
Relationships have all been bad
Mine′ve been like Verlaine′s and Rimbaud
But there's no way I can compare
All those scenes to this affair
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go
Yer gonna make me wonder what I′m doin'
Stayin′ far behind without you
Yer gonna make me wonder what I'm sayin′
Yer gonna make me give myself a good talkin' to
I'll look for you in old Honolulu
San Francisco, Ashtabula
Yer gonna have to leave me now, I know
But I′ll see you in the sky above
In the tall grass, in the ones I love
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go
Mary Lou Lord's song "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" is about the pain and sadness of losing a lover. The first verse talks about how the singer has seen love come and go but that it's never been so close before, and how this love has come unexpectedly and has been easy and slow. However, the singer is aware that this love will leave a void and make them lonesome when they go. The second verse is about how the singer has only experienced careless love that always hit them from below, but this time it's different - it's more correct, right on target and so direct. The verse continues to describe the beauty of the person who will be leaving and how their departure would make the singer cry. The third verse talks about the happy moments spent with the person and how much they were spoiled by their love, and how they'll feel lonely when they leave. The final verse describes how the singer still hopes to see the person again, even as they leave for good.
Line by Line Meaning
I've seen love go by my door
I have experienced love before, but it has never been this close to me.
It's never been this close before
Love has never been so close to me in the past.
Never been so easy or so slow
This love has been effortless and taking its time.
Been shooting in the dark too long
I have been searching for love blindly for too long.
When somethin's not right it's wrong
I have learned to recognize when something is off in a relationship.
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go
When you leave, I will feel lonely and miss you terribly.
Dragon clouds so high above
The clouds resemble dragons flying high up in the sky.
I've only known careless love
In my past relationships, love was always carefree and reckless.
It's always hit me from below
My past love has come unexpectedly and often hit me hard.
This time around it's more correct
This love feels right in every way.
Right on target, so direct
Our relationship is headed in the right direction and is straightforward.
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go
When you leave, I will feel lonely and miss you terribly.
Purple clover, Queen Annes Lace
The flowers in the field are purple clovers and Queen Anne's Lace.
Crimson hair across your face
Your red hair falls across your face in a beautiful way.
You could make me cry if you don't know
You have the ability to make me cry if you are unaware of my feelings.
Can't remember what I was thinkin' of
I am so caught up in the present moment that I cannot recall what I was thinking about before.
You might be spoiling me too much, love
You might be treating me too well and it will be hard to adjust without you.
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go
When you leave, I will feel lonely and miss you terribly.
Flowers on the hillside, bloomin' crazy
The flowers on the hillside are blooming vigorously and almost wildly.
Crickets talkin' back and forth in rhyme
The crickets are communicating with each other through rhythmic chirps.
Blue river runnin' slow and lazy
The river flows slowly and lazily in a calming manner.
I could stay with you forever and never realize the time
I feel so comfortable around you that time seems to pass effortlessly when we're together.
Situations have ended sad
My past relationships have ended unhappily.
Relationships have all been bad
All of my previous relationships have been unsuccessful.
Mine've been like Verlaine's and Rimbaud
My past relationships have been tumultuous, like the affair between Verlaine and Rimbaud.
But there's no way I can compare
However, there is no comparison to the love that I am experiencing now.
All those scenes to this affair
The relationship that I am in now surpasses all of the scenes in my past relationships.
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go
When you leave, I will feel lonely and miss you terribly.
Yer gonna make me wonder what I'm doin'
When you leave, I will question the choices I made that led to you leaving.
Stayin' far behind without you
Without you, I will feel stuck in place and unable to move forward.
Yer gonna make me wonder what I'm sayin'
When you leave, I will question if I said the right things and if there was anything I could have done differently.
Yer gonna make me give myself a good talkin' to
When you leave, I will need to have a serious conversation with myself to process my feelings and figure out how to move on.
I'll look for you in old Honolulu
I will look for you in a place where we were both happy together, like old Honolulu.
San Francisco, Ashtabula
I will also look for you in other places where we spent time together, such as San Francisco and Ashtabula.
Yer gonna have to leave me now, I know
I understand that you have to leave me now.
But I'll see you in the sky above
Although you will be physically gone, I will still see you in the sky, thinking of you and our time together.
In the tall grass, in the ones I love
I will also see you in the tall grass, a symbol of our love, and in the people I care about who remind me of you.
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go
When you leave, I will feel lonely and miss you terribly.
Writer(s): Bob Dylan
Contributed by Levi W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.