REQ: Mari-Mac Lyrics by Great Big Sea
Cathedral
Does anyone out there have the lyrics to the song Mari-Mac preformed by
Great Big Sea? Any help at all will be appreciated! :)
Cathedral
Karen Parker
Cathedral (cric...@atcon.com) wrote:
: Does anyone out there have the lyrics to the song Mari-Mac preformed by
Here's the lyrics to another version of Mari-Mac (or "Mary Mack",
according to these lyrics) The lyrcis (and spelling) for GBS's are slightly
different, but maybe this'll help a bit... I found this by doing an
AltaVista search, FYI.
There's a nice wee lass and her name is Mary Mack
Make no mistake, she's the lass I'm going to tak'
There's a lot of other fellows that'd get upon her track
But I'm thinking that they'll have to get up early
CHORUS:Mary Mack's mother's making Mary Mack marry me
My mother's making me marry Mary Mack
And I'm going to marry Mary to get married and take care of me
We'll all be making merry when I marry Mary Mack
This wee lass she's got a lot of gas
She's got a lot of brass and her father thinks I'm class
And I'd be a silly ass just to let the matter pass
When her father thinks she suits me fairly
Well Mary and her mother gang an awfu' lot together
In fact you never see the one without you see the other
And the fellas often wonder if it's Mary or her mother
Or both of them together that I'm courting
The wedding day's on Wednesday, and everything's arranged
Her name will soon be changed to mine unless her mind be changed
And the making the arrangements, faith it makes me quite deranged
For marriage is an awful undertaking
Great Big Sea have another verse that starts something like "Up among the
heather in the hills of...? ...I had a bonnie lass sittin' on me knee..."
but I don't know all the words to that one.
Karen
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Gerry Sullivan
Date: 19 Sep 1996 00:24:55 GMT
From: Karen Parker <aa...@freenet.hamilton.on.ca>
Subject: Re: REQ: Mari-Mac Lyrics by Great Big Sea
> There's a nice wee lass and her name is Mary Mack
> Make no mistake, she's the lass I'm going to tak'
> There's a lot of other fellows that'd get upon her track
> But I'm thinking that they'll have to get up early
>
> CHORUS:Mary Mack's mother's making Mary Mack marry me
> My mother's making me marry Mary Mack
> And I'm going to marry Mary to get married and take care of me
> We'll all be making merry when I marry Mary Mack
>
> This wee lass she's got a lot of gas
> She's got a lot of brass and her father thinks I'm class
> And I'd be a silly ass just to let the matter pass
> When her father thinks she suits me fairly
>
> Well Mary and her mother gang an awfu' lot together
> In fact you never see the one without you see the other
> And the fellas often wonder if it's Mary or her mother
> Or both of them together that I'm courting
>
> The wedding day's on Wednesday, and everything's arranged
> Her name will soon be changed to mine unless her mind be changed
> And the making the arrangements, faith it makes me quite deranged
> For marriage is an awful undertaking
Further to this reply, there is another verse which I know;
"It's sure to be a grand affair, grander than the fair
There's sure to be a lot of fun, I'm sure to get ma(my) share
There's sure to be a coach and pair for every pair that's there
An' if there's no, I'm very much mistaken....."
If I might also suggest the following alteration to the above
"Noo Mary an' her mither aye aften gang(going) the gither(together)
An ye very rarely see them, the wan(one) wi'oot (without) the ither(other)
An' the boys affen(often) wonder if it's Mary or her Mither
Or the baith(both) o' them together that I'm coortin'(courting)"
A version of the chorus which you may find easier is;
"Mary Mack's mither's makin' Mary Mack merry(marry) me
Ma Mother's makin me marry Mary Mack
I'm gonny marry Mary, Mary will take care o' me
We'll all be makin merry when I marry Mary Mack!"
I believe this song is from a Music Hall source in the East coast of
Scotland, generally not all of the verse are sung given that the humour,
although evident in the arrangement of the language and subsequent tongue
twisting of the singer, loses it's novelty after say three verses,
consequently the verses, relating Mary's 'gas ' qualities and the description
of the 'affair' are rarely sung. There is another version of this song in
'The Scottish Folksinger' althugh I can't remember the tile and since the
book in question is in a chest on which sits my TV & video etc, it shall
remain a mystery unless someone wants more information.....
Gerry Sullivan
Pro Sound Services
Specialists in Sound Reinforcement for traditional and acoustic musicians
Phone/Fax : +44 (0)141 422 1944
I'd like to say something clever, so if any of the above makes sense I will
have achieved my ambition!!