Mary Jane (Megadeth song)

"Mary Jane"
Mary Jane cover
Single by Megadeth
from the album So Far, So Good... So What!
Released	January 19, 1988
Recorded	1987
Genre	Thrash metal
Length	4:25
Label	Capitol
Writer(s)	Mustaine/Ellefson
Producer	Dave Mustaine
Megadeth singles chronology
"Anarchy in the U.K." (1988) "Mary Jane" (1988) "In My Darkest Hour" (1988)
So Far, So Good... So What! track listing "Anarchy in the U.K." (3) "Mary Jane" (4) "Liar" (5)

"Mary Jane" is the fourth song from Megadeth's album So Far, So Good… So What!, written by Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson.

Lyrical meaning

"Mary Jane" is not about marijuana, as is commonly thought; it is actually about a girl who takes up witchcraft, and seeks forgiveness from her father only to be buried alive as punishment.

Most of the lyrics refer to a man being haunted by the girl.^[1] Ironically, or perhaps intentionally, the song's last beat is on 4:20, a reference to marijuana. Mustaine and Ellefson confirmed in 1994 at a show close to where Ellefson grew up that the song was about the "witch's grave", a local Iowa/Minnesota legend about a grave in the Loon Lake Cemetery, Near Jackson, Minnesota, that belongs to a young woman by the name of Mary Jane Twilegar, who was supposedly beheaded by the citizens of Petersburg, Minnesota (near Jackson), in 1881 for being a witch. Rumor has it she was buried axe and all, and that whoever dares jump her grave three times, will suffer an untimely death. An obituary found years later supposedly belonging to "Mary Jane" claimed that she died of diphtheria, and there were no records of witchcraft & beheadings in the area at that time. Despite this, Mary Jane's tombstone was removed from the cemetery by the Jackson County Historical Society and taken to the Jackson County Police Department for safe keeping due to years of vandalism. The song is also claimed to be about taboos in culture; at a live performance, Dave Mustaine claimed that the song is about a girl who is caught masturbating by her father, who then kills her.^[2]

Musical style

Janiss Garza, writing for the Los Angeles Times, describes the song as "darkly melodic".^[3] The song is also unique in that it begins with a descending whole tone scale in the lead guitar part.

Tracklist

1. Mary Jane - 04:24
2. Hook in Mouth - 04:48
3. My Last Words - 04:55

Total: 14:07

Personnel

• Dave Mustaine - guitar, lead vocals
• Jeff Young - guitar
• David Ellefson - bass, backing vocals
• Chuck Behler - drums

Chart

Year	Track name	Chart	Position
1988	"Mary Jane"	UK Singles Chart	46[2]

References

1. ^ www.MEGADETH.com » Scorpion Archive
2. ^ ^{a b} Mary Jane information songfacts.com. Retrieved on August 29, 2006.
3. ^ Garza, Janiss (1988-07-04). "Megadeth Matures, Fans Follow". Los Angeles Times: p. 2. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59777389.html?dids=59777389:59777389&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jul+04%2C+1988&author=JANISS+GARZA&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=POP+MUSIC+REVIEW+Megadeth+Matures%2C+Fans+Follow&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2008-05-25.