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Lyr Req: The Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix)

20 Oct 00 - 01:24 PM (#323389)
Subject: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: mousethief

There seem to be a lot of songs with the line, "the sky cries Mary" or "the wind cries Mary."

Does anybody know the source of this? Does this come from a legend or story of some sort? Does anybody know which song or poem first used this line?

This question has been bubbling in my mind for some time. Sure would like to hear people's thoughts and/or research on this one.

Thanks,
Alex
O..O
=o=


20 Oct 00 - 01:27 PM (#323395)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: The Shambles

"They call the wind Maria", is another one.

Maybe it has something to with the practice (now stopped), of naming hurricanes as female?


20 Oct 00 - 02:02 PM (#323435)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: Lonesome EJ

Hendrix had one of the worst verses he ever wrote in The Wind Cries Mary when he said "The traffic lights they turn on blue tomorrow/And rain in emptiness down on my head/The tiny island sags downstream/Cause the life it lived is... is dead" He did redeem this tripe with an amazing guitar break,as usual.


20 Oct 00 - 02:08 PM (#323440)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: mousethief

He was trying to sound like Dylan.

Alex
O..O
=o=


20 Oct 00 - 02:13 PM (#323448)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: Steve Latimer

No, I think he just did too much acid. I still love the mood of the song and I have to agree with LEJ about the Guitar part. Jimi sure did some pretty stuff.


20 Oct 00 - 02:52 PM (#323484)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: Haruo

Did they actually stop naming hurricanes as females, or did they just cut back to 50% of them?

Liland


20 Oct 00 - 03:05 PM (#323491)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: mousethief

They name every other one after ladies and the ones left over after gentlemen.

Alex
O..O
=o=


20 Oct 00 - 05:31 PM (#323560)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: Mary in Kentucky

I found a Cat's Paw wind at this link! (http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc_1998/98may01.htm) Says it's a gentle wind.

There are two references to Mary in the first paragraph. Actually, there are lots of names for various winds all over the world.


20 Oct 00 - 05:33 PM (#323561)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: Mary in Kentucky

ooooh...I just thought about what that sounds like! Cat's Paw Wind!


20 Oct 00 - 06:54 PM (#323636)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: M. Ted (inactive)

The wind crying some one's name, be it Mary or not, is a literary device, much used in Victorian age poetry, called "Pathetic Fallacy", in which some element in the real world echoes or reacts to the emotions of the subject. When a cold wind blows on lonely person walks down a deserted street, when rain falls at a funeral, when something good happens and the sun pops out, or when the wind cries out the name of someone who has gone, your "pathetic fallacy" dollars are hard at work--


21 Oct 00 - 05:47 PM (#324161)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: catspaw49

Actually Mary, that's where the business came came from added to the fact I'm a sailor. There is a light, gossamer sound to Hammered Dulcimers and the whole thing tied together. I started using it several years before I ever saw Mudcat.

On the subject of Catspaw's winds......well, nuff said!

Spaw


22 Oct 00 - 02:22 AM (#324347)
Subject: RE: Wind/Sky crying 'Mary'?
From: Bob Bolton

G'day Shambles et al,

I can't lay my hand on any confirmation of this, but I seem to remember hearing that the practice of giving names to major storm systems started in Australia - with a rather thorny government meteorologist who named them after politicians.

When he was forced (by the politicians) to stop naming them after politicians he had to give them female names ... which could never be mistaken for politicians because the idea of a female politician was ludicrous!

Regards,

Bob Bolton