Gerry Rafferty: “Mary Skeffington” (1971)
Gerry Rafferty’s 1971 solo debut Can I Have My Money Back? has the blend of rock, folk and whimsy typical of McCartney’s work of the same period.
Slotted between his work as a member of the bands Humblebums and Stealer’s Wheel, Can I Have My Money Back? would be Rafferty’s last solo effort before his monster five-million-selling City to City, the album that knocked the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack from the number one spot in the US.
The version of “Mary Skeffington” appearing on the original vinyl album is sparer, with little accompaniment other than acoustic guitar. This more fleshed-out band version has replaced it on CD reissues and compilations.
Mary Skeffington was Rafferty’s mother’s maiden name. According to Rafferty’s Daily Telegraph obituary, he was born in Paisley, Scotland on April 16, 1947, and had a miserable childhood. “His mother would hide from his father to avoid being beaten when he came home drunk.”
This lends the song’s lyric a potent poignancy.
Mary Skeffington, close your eyes
And make believe that you are just a girl again
Go to sleep tonight, dream of days
When you had something there to light the way.
Remember a holiday in a north-of-England town
You slept in a room upstairs on a bed of eiderdown.
Mary Skeffington, when you wake
You mustn’t be afraid to face another day
Think of what you have, you’ll get by
You’ve always been a lady so hold your head up high.
Look back on a home where you spent the best years of your life
Remember the man who asked you if you would be his wife.
Mary Skeffington, close your eyes
And make believe that you are just a girl again
Go to sleep tonight, dream of days
When you had something there to light the way.
Every Moment Has A Song 