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Devilish Mary
Composer: Traditional

Devilish Mary was performed by the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers in San Carlos on June 11th 1962. The Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers were a trio formed by Jerry Garcia, Marshall Leicester and Dick Arnold in May 1962.

This song dates back to at least the 1880s. In some collections it is referred to as a British ballad but no version has ever been 'collected' in the field in Britain.

Note that for early recordings the date given is the recording date rather than the release date. Devilish Mary was recorded by Riley Puckett in March 1924 but this recording was not released.



Recordings

no info Single (Devilish Mary / Mister Chicken), Roba Stanley, August 1924
no info Single (The Burglar Man / Devlish Mary), Arthur Tanner, June 1925
no info Single (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss / Devilish Mary), Gid Tanner & His Skillet-Lickers, Oct 1928
no info Single (Naomi Wise / Devilish Mary), Red Fox Chasers, June 1929
no info Single (Soldier Will You Marry Mew / Devilish Mary), Gid Tanner & His Skillet-Lickers, April 1930
no info Single (Devilish Mary / Cross Eyed Gal On The Hill), Bill Boyd & His Cowboy Ramblers, Sept 1937
no info Single (Devilish Mary / Young Roger The Miller), Bob Atcher, 1948
info Early American Folk Songs, Bob Atcher, 1949
info Darling Corey, Pete Seeger, 1950
info Women: Folk Songs About the Fair Sex, Burl Ives, 1954
info Shivaree!, Jean Ritchie, Oscar Brand, Tom Paley, Harry & Jeanie West, 1955
info Peggy Seeger, Peggy Seeger, 1956
info Folksongs and Footnotes, Gordon Heath and Lee Payant, 1956
no info His Banjo & Guitar EP, Guy Caravan, 1957
no info At The Gate Of Horn, Odetta, 1957
info Sings American Folk Songs, Walt Robertson, 1959
info Hangin', Drinkin' And Stuff, Art and Paul, 1961
info Folk and Other Songs, Steve Camacho, 1962
info Traditional Music from Grayson and Carroll Counties, Virginia, Various Artists (Glen Neaves, Roscoe Russell & Ivor Melton), 1962
info Horton Barker: Traditional Singer, Horton Barker , 1962
no info At Town Hall, Odetta, 1962
no info The Skillet Lickers, The Skillet Lickers, 1964
no info Grandpa Jones Sings Real Folk Songs, Grandpa Jones, 1964
no info Skillet Lickers, Vol. 1, Skillet Lickers, 1965
no info Introducing the Beers Family: An American Folk Tradition, The Beers Family, 1965
info Red Fox Chasers, Red Fox Chasers, 1967
no info The Best of Odetta, Odetta, 1967
no info Grandpa Jones Sings Hits From "Hee Haw", Grandpa Jones, 1969
no info Bobby Smith & the Boys from Shiloh, Bobby Smith & the Boys from Shiloh, 1969
no info Golden Skein, Beers Family, 1972
no info Kenny Hall and the Sweets Mill String Band, 1973
no info No. 3 Special, Highwoods String Band, 1978
no info Ballad of the Boonslick, Cathy Barton & Dave Para, 1982
info Evo's Autoharp, Evo Bluestein, 1985
no info Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol. 6, Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys, 1987
no info Skillet Lickers Music: 1955-1991: The Tanner Legacy, Gid Tanner & Friends, 1992
no info Mr. Spaceman, Bob Carlin, 1992
no info Darling Corey/Goofing Off Suite, Pete Seeger, 1993
info Feed Your Babies Onions: Fat City Favorites, Highwoods Stringband, 1994
no info The Best of Odetta: Ballads & Blues, Odetta, 1994
no info American Folksay, Vol. 1-4: Ballads & Dances, Various Artists (Woody Guthrie & Cisco Houston), 1995
no info Old Time Fiddle Tunes & Songs from North Georgia, The Skillet Lickers, 1996
info Classic Peggy Seeger, Peggy Seeger featuring Tom Paley, 1996
no info Everybody's Grandpa, Grandpa Jones, 1996
info Land Of Yahoe, Various Artists (Billy Don Stamper), 1996
no info Giants of the Folk Tradition, Vol. 1, Various Artists (Odetta), 1998
info Respect: A Century Of Women In Music, Various Artists (Roba Stanley), 1999
no info Dev'lish Mary, Hot Club of Cowtown, 2000
no info The Story That the Crow Told Me, Vol. 2: Early American Rural Children's Songs, Various Artists (Skillet Lickers), 2000
no info We'll Die in the Pig Pen Fighting, Tom, Brad & Alice, 2001
info Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3: 1928-1929, The Skillet Lickers, 2001
info Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 4: 1929-1930, The Skillet Lickers, 2001
no info More Than 16 Tons of Bluegrass & Other Fine Stuff, Pete Stanley & Wizz Jones, 2001
no info Swing With Bill Boyd & His Cowboy Ramblers, Bill Boyd & His Cowboy Ramblers, 2001
no info Triple Stop, Scotty Anderson, 2001
no info The Tradition Masters, Odetta, 2002
no info Pete Seeger/The Weavers Box Set, Pete Seeger, 2003
no info Off to California, Piney Creek Weasels, 2003
info Smokey Mountain Pickin': 24 Great Bluegrass Instrumentals, Various Artists (Boys From Shilo/Vassar Clements), 2003
no info History of the Chadbournes, Eugene Chadbourne, 2005
no info The Wayfaring Stranger: The Golden Years Of, Burl Ives, 2005
no info Evoharp, Evo Bluestein, 2005
no info Kenny Hall and the Sweets Mill String Band, 2005
no info In Hollywood: 1943-1944, Bob Wills, 2006
no info Folk Songs, Ballads and Banjo, Pete Seeger, 2006
no info Blue Tail Fly, Burl Ives, 2008
no info Art of Field Recording, Volume II, Various Artists (Gordon Tanner/Smokey Joe Miller), 2008
info Front Porch Pickin', Various Artists (Vassar Clements), 2008
info I'm Going Down to North Carolina: The Complete Recordings of the Red Fox Chasers: 1928-31, Red Fox Chasers, 2009
no info The Tiffany Transcriptions Box Set, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, 2009
info Gennett Old Time Music: Classic Country Recordings 1927-1934, Various Artists (Red Fox Chasers), 2010
info My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean: British Songs in the USA, Various Artists (Gid Tanner), 2015

Lyrics

The lyrics used by the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers are as follows;

When I was young and foolish,
Swore I never would marry,
I met up with a pretty little girl,
Surely we got married.

(Chorus)
Along come a-dink come a-dary,
Prettiest girl that ever I saw,
Her name was Devilish Mary.

We both were young and foolish,
She was just (?),
On one word we did agree,
The wedding day was Thursday.

Chorus...

Hadn't been married but about six weeks,
She got as mean as a devil,
Every time I looked cross-eyed,
She hit me in the head with a shovel.

Chorus...

We hadn't been married but about six weeks,
We decided to be parted,
She packed up all her (duds?),
And down the road she started.

Chorus...

Fill my back with old soap suds,
Fill my back with stitches,
Next I would marry a girl,
She can wear the britches.

Chorus...

If I ever marry another girl,
It'll be for love not riches,
Marry a little girl about four feet high,
So she can wear my britches.

Chorus...

 
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