Hello all.

A coon's age since I posted here. Hope everyone's doing well.

I'm working up some new material for gigs and a friend who's playing with me does a version of Devilish Mary. While I sort of know the song, I dropped by the Mudcat to see what has been said about it. Not much, apparently. Also, both versions in the database are not the lyrics that he performs. Certainly have similarities, but different enough I wanted to post the different lyrics here.

The interesting thing is I know the version that my friend does is more similar to the way I learned as a kid - by going to Disneyland and watching the Country Bear Jamboree. (yeah, I know). They don't do the entire song, but it's closer to the following version than either in the db.

Any more info on the song? Are there alternate titles, or does anyone know where it comes from? I'm having trouble getting info on it. My friend doesn't know anything about it, he learned it from a friend in the 60s or 70s.

DEVILISH MARY (Version 3?)

When I was a young man in my prime
And I vowed I never would marry,
I fell in love with a pretty little girl
Her name was Devilish Mary.

(Chorus)
Sing a ring-tim-a-ting-tim-a-tarry-o
Her hair was brown and her eyes were blue
And her name was Devilish Mary

We were so young and foolish,
We got in an awful big hurry
She decided in about two words
We'd be married come Thursday    (Chorus)

Well we'd been married about two weeks
when she got mean as the devil
every time I'd turn around
she'd hit me with a shovel    (Chorus)

We we'd been married about two months
When she said we'd be parted
so she packed up my roving duds
and down the road I started    (Chorus)

Well if I marry a second time
it'll be for love, not riches
I'll marry a little girl about two feet
so she can't wear my britches    (Chorus)