"Mary" is a song by American rock band

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) as dr ...

, included on their eponymous debut album as the fourth track. Lead singer

Jake Shears Jake Shears (born October 3, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the male lead singer of pop-rock band Scissor Sisters. Early life Shears was born in Mesa, Arizona, the son of an entrepreneur father and a Baptist moth ...

wrote "Mary" for his best friend, Mary Hanlon, who later died in April 2006 from a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circ ...

. "Mary" was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in the United Kingdom on October 11, 2004, across three formats: a 12-inch

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

, a regular 12-inch vinyl disc, and a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

. The song peaking at number 14 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 32 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

Music video

The video for the single was released in October 2004 and was considered a

curio Curio may refer to: Objects *Bric-à-brac, lesser objets d'art for display * Cabinet of curiosities, a room-sized collection or exhibit of curios or curiosities *Collectables *Curio cabinet, a cabinet constructed for the display of curios People ...

by fans. It was seen as a

spoof Spoof, spoofs, spoofer, or spoofing may refer to: * Forgery of goods or documents * Semen, in Australian slang * Spoof (game), a guessing game * Spoofing (finance), a disruptive algorithmic-trading tactic designed to manipulate markets __NOTOC__ ...

of ''

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of ''Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of ''Persinette ...

'' and other children's

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

s. The music video was produced by

Don Bluth Donald Virgil Bluth (; born September 13, 1937) is an American film director, animator, production designer, and animation instructor, best known for his animated films, including ''The Secret of NIMH'' (1982), ''An American Tail'' (1986), ''Th ...

. Scissor Sisters contacted him after recalling fond memories of an animated sequence in '' Xanadu''. The video also includes a live-action portion, showing a woman getting out of bed, boarding a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

train, departing at Canary Wharf tube station and entering and working in a Docklands office. This sequence segues into the animation with her staring into a photocopier, presumably indicating the animated sequence is her daydream.

Track listings

UK 12-inch

:A. "Mary" – 4:45 :B. "Laura" (City Hi-Fi remix) – 4:20 UK 12-inch vinyl :A. "Mary" – 4:45 :B. "Mary" (

Junkie XL Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), also known by his stage name Junkie XL or occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer. Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing e ...

mix) – 8:46 UK CD single # "Mary" – 4:45 # "Mary" (Junkie XL radio edit) – 3:55 # " Take Me Out" (

Jo Whiley Johanne Whiley-Morton (born 4 July 1965), better known by her professional name Jo Whiley, is an English radio DJ and television presenter. She was the host of the long-running weekday later weekend '' Jo Whiley Show'' on BBC Radio 1. She curre ...

Session) – 4:32

Charts

Release history

References

External links

Official website

Underground Illusion - The Ultimate Scissor Sisters Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mary (Song) 2000s ballads 2004 singles 2004 songs EMI Records singles Music videos directed by Julien Temple Polydor Records singles Rock ballads Scissor Sisters songs Songs written by Babydaddy Songs written by Jake Shears