© Glen B Powell 1985

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

Do you know, hey don’t you know?

Would you hear me if I said sincerely,

You gotta go against the flow

Would you go, which way would you go?

Be wary Mary, there’s more to this than meets the eye

Be very wary Mary, all of us are doomed to die,

Once or twice

Mary scatters those seeds around,

Some go in the pot, some on the ground,

Will the lost seed ever be found, where will they grow?

And if that leaf should start to rot,

You know the gardener will cut it off

But if the root stays clean it’ll grow back nice and green

Help me Mary, there’s more to this than meets the eye

Be very wary Mary, ‘cos all of us are doomed to wonder

Why we’re doomed to die

You know you cannot always reap the seed you sow,

Even though you watched them grow, you never know,

If they grow which way they’ll go

Be wary Mary, the seed must die and then be buried

Be wary Mary, it’s time to leave this seed cemetery

Eat drink and be merry, Mary

Tomorrow night we just might die.

Audio: From the album ‘No Secret Message’ by Glen Powell (1997)