The Other Side of Summer

As pointed out by Ian.k in the comments of the previous post, there are many connotations of "summer" not just the often thought of summer = goodness and sunshine notion.

Ian.k writes "When I think of summer, I think of long hot summer days where you sit around bored to death. Now when I think of beaches and swimming and picnics and fun, I think of summer vacation."

Summer in this case is an ambiguous word choice on the part of the writer. It could be a good thing in a bad context (creeping) or it could be depression in a bad context. The writer could have avoided any of this confusion by chosing a word other than "summer" to demonstrate his meaning.

I feel death creepin in.
I feel boredom creepin in.
I feel depression creepin in.
I feel night creepin in.

But the writer chose "summer" over any other alternative. And I think this choice demonstrates a possibility of things going one of several ways. That, unlike death, summer could be a good or bad thing. Summer, itself, could go either way -- that there was a possibility of summer bringing joy but this summer, for this narrator, will go a very different way.

"Summer Creepin In"

I would like to take a moment to focus on the extremely odd line "I feel summer creepin in" found in the third line of the refrain.

Ostensibly, "I feel summer creepin in" means that the narrator is aware of summer approaching and that there will shortly be a change of seasons. Change of seasons frequently in literature and language refers to a change in someone's life. Often a process of aging and growing up (think about what people mean when they say a "May-December romance") as well as a process of leaving things behind.

Summer is generally used in terms that have good connotations. Summer break, summer vacation, summer camp, summer sun. It is a season of warmth, of good weather, the earth becomes green again, crops flourish, people spend their free time out of doors, children run around playing, the days are longer, fruit ripens on the vine.

People look forward to summer, but not the narrator.

Instead of choosing words that would indicate the narrator is looking forward to summer (e.g. summer is dawning, gearing up for summer, getting ready for summer, summer's warming up, etc.), the narrator chooses to describe the eminent change in seasons as a "creepin[g] in."

"Creepin[g]" has its own set of connotations, ones rarely associated with the joys of summer. Creeping refers to sneaking, stalking, coming up behind one unawares, or the general creepy-crawly feeling people get when something is amiss.

By pairing the dawn of summer with the verb "creepin[g]" the writer clearly defines for us that this eminent change is not a good change, that the narrator does not like it, and we should not feel good about it either.

Mary Jane in Context (Marijuana)

The four lines of the refrain are as follows:

Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin in and I’m
Tired of this town again

My argument is that in this situation "Mary Jane" does not refer to a woman but to marijuana. Mary Jane is among the many cultural names for marijuana used in the second half of the twentieth century including pot, weed, hash, and others.

The narrator in the lyrics then engages in one last "dance" with marijuana "to kill the pain." This reference to the numbing effects of "Mary Jane" is a more apt description of a narcotic then of one physical dance with a woman.

Physically dancing would be much more likely to produce feelings of nostalgia or euphoria, rather than the deadening sensation the narrator is referring to in the second line of the refrain.

The argument for reading "Mary Jane" as marijuana is furthered by the final two lines of the refrain where the narrator says he "feel[s] summer creepin in and I'm/ tired of this town again." In this case the narrator is painting a setting where drug usage is an easily understood escape. Tedium, boredom (in this case tiredness) and a feeling of inability to escape social or financial circumstances are often noted as markers of habitual drug users, or at least markers of why they moved from recreational users to habitual users. The feeling of inescapability is particularly noticeable in the line "I feel summer creepin in." Summer holds no promise for the narrator, instead it creeps up on him and traps him in "this town again."

Project Description

This blog is a student run project to delve into "Mary Jane's Last Dance" written by Tom Petty, performed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The posts that follow will contain a textual and contextual analysis of the lyrics, the writer’s word choice, how the music emphasizes certain lyrics, and how those lyrics function in the world.

I am particularly interested in seeing what responses, memories and feelings these lyrics evoke in myself as I continue to peel back the layers of meaning. And less interested in interviews given by the artist on the lyrics, although I may include some of those later on in my project.

Later, this blog will also feature an analysis of the official music video associated with the song.

Song Lyrics

Lyrics by: Tom Petty

She grew up in an Indiana town
Had a good lookin momma who never was around
But she grew up tall and she grew up right
With them Indiana boys on an Indiana night

Well she moved down here at the age of 18
She blew the boys away, it was more than they’d seen
I was introduced and we both started groovin
She said, I dig you baby but I got to keep movin
...on, keep movin on

Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin in and I’m
Tired of this town again

Well I don’t know what I’ve been told
You never slow down, you never grow old
I’m tired of screwing up, I’m tired of goin down
I’m tire of myself, I’m tired of this town
Oh my my, oh hell yes
Honey put on that party dress
Buy me a drink, sing me a song,
Take me as I come cause I cant stay long

Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin in and I’m
Tired of this town again

There’s pigeons down on market square
She’s standin in her underwear
Lookin down from a hotel room
Nightfall will be comin soon
Oh my my, oh hell yes
You’ve got to put on that party dress
It was too cold to cry when I woke up alone
I hit the last number, I walked to the road

Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin in and I’m
Tired of this town again

(lyrics from www.lyricsfreak.com – edited for spelling and clarity)