"Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty... ANY CLUES to it's meaning?

[laurieluvsit]

Is "Mary Jane" some sort of metaphor for Marijuana?

Isn't Mary Jane another name for it?

How about..."Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain"?

I mean isn't that what marijuana is suppose to do?

Why do some say that he was singing about a slut because he wrote these parts...

"She grew up in an Indiana town
Had a good-lookin' mama 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 eighteen
She blew the boys away, was more than they'd seen"
And...
"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 got to put on that party dress"

If you are in a high rise hotel room no one is going to see you at the window standing in your underwear, or less... lol, even I have done that.

Are there any hidden meanings in this song?

I love this song... what are your opinions?

To get a feeling for my question... here is the song after his picture...

[Glen68]

"Mary Jane" refers to the girl and to the smoke. Whatever Tom Petty meant by it, I've always interpreted it a bit like this -

He's singing point of view of a guy in a small town, going nowhere. The girl, Mary Jane, is a girl who grew up in a similar small town in Indiana with a waste case of a mother who pretty much left her to her own. With no parental guidance, she became prey to the "Indiana boys", so she learned to be tough and take care of herself (she grew up tall and she grew up right).

When she was 18, she left her podunk town and hit the road, looking for something better. She pulled into our Hero's town - another small town, not unlike the one she left behind. She knew she wouldn't be staying long, but our Hero was smitten with her, and she kind of liked him too, and they started hanging out together (groovin') - and she stayed longer than she expected.

The verse "i don't know, but I been told" is Mary Jane talking - she's realizing that no matter where she goes, she can't escape her past - she doesn't want to be tied down to one place because it all comes creeping back - but she's tired of running, too.

The chorus "last dance with Mary jane" is a literal last dance with her, and a figurative one more bowl of weed. They're both trying to numb their pain - her shitty life, his shitty life PLUS the knowledge he's losing her.

He passes out in their hotel room, but she's overcome with the hopelessness of her life - and goes out the window and jumps ("night fall" will be coming soon) - falls to her death in the square below.

He wakes up alone - finds out what's happened, and is just numb, not surprised (too cold to cry when I woke up alone). Smokes a bowl for the road and heads out (hit my last number), hoping to find a better life than she did.

It's like, she was the only good thing that ever happened to him in that town, trying to keep her there killed her. He wasn't going to let the small town kill him too.

But that's just the way I see it. :)

[laurieluvsit]

THAT IS TOTALLY AMAZING!

What a great rendition of the story and very plausible too. Everything in your scenario makes sense... THANK YOU!

[Glen68]

You're welcome

[Glen68]

Thank you for mho

[madhatters4]

there's a lot of ideas.
- obvious one is about marijuana
- another is that his 1st wife's name was "Jane" and the song was conceived shortly after the marriage fell apart

but another thing to consider is that it's just a song. the lyrics if you listen to them sound like a general song about a girl. Mike Campell the guitarist for TP&HBs said that originally the lyric Petty sang in early demos was "hey indiana girl" instead of "last dance with mary jane". so i think the song is just an idea. perhaps about a real person but perhaps not

[SarahsSummer]

It was originally title Hey Indiana Girl but Tom could get behind it and changed the chorus to last dance with Mary Jane.
Petty has not said what this is about, but there are two common interpretations. It could be about Petty's divorce from his wife Jane, which happened a year before this was recorded. Another possibility is that it is about marijuana, as "Mary Jane" is slang for pot and the lyrics refer to killing the pain, which the drug is known for. Mike Campbell (lead guitar) offered this explanation: "My take on it is it can be whatever you want it to be. A lot of people think it's a drug reference, and if that's what you want to think, it very well could be, but it could also just be a goodbye love song."

[SarahsSummer]

*couldnt get behind it.

[SarahsSummer]

Thanks for MHO💟

[laurieluvsit]

You're welcome :)

[MORPHEUS_12]

I am not sure why he would beat around the bush with that song when he had a song "Girl On LSD."

https://youtu.be/Q-gyHzqKZRU

[DeeDeeDeVour]

Taking the title "Mary Jane's Last Dance" literally also got guessing that he's quitting weed?

[DeeDeeDeVour]

got *me guessing...

[laurieluvsit]

Makes sense. Maybe he did. He should have! ... lol

[DeeDeeDeVour]

Whether he quit weed or not, it doesn't matter anymore unless he's still smokin' 'em in his grave since his death over a year ago.

[laurieluvsit]

Yes, I know, I was only an inch away from ordering tickets to his last tour when he came through Northern California.

Something came up at the last minute to interfere.

I wish I could have gone. He died just a couple of months after that.

[Finchie40]

He is comparing marijuana to the girl cuz she is like a drilug to him , pretty much saying his experience with both were very similar , best way to say it is he is drawn to her and likes her but she doesn't stick around she is her own person, but when she does come around he can't say no , just like when he gets high he probably doesn't smoke all the. time but when it comes around its hard for him to say no , cuz he knows it feels good but then it goes away once it wears off , and yes Mary Jane is another name for weed

[Onepiece_fan2000]

Yeah Mary Jane is another name for maraijuana yeah it probably referring to a girl that did the drug. Probably they broke up.

[lightbulb27]

I thought it was a metphor for cocaine... withdrawl from.

[jiffyjeff1029]

Yes Mary Jane in this case was a plant. "she came down here at the age of 18 (that's 18 meaning she was cloned 8 times) she blew the boys away she then they've seen"

[jimmy2]

Mary Jane is a slang wird for pot yes

[Pink2000]

Mary jame is weed.

[Pink2000]

Jane*