The Short Answer Lyrics - Billy Bragg

Between Marx and marzipan in the dictionary there was Mary 

Between the Deep Blue Sea and the Devil that was me 

If ever anyone could help me with my obsession with 

The young Suzannah York 

It was Mary 

In my pink pajamas she asked me for something 

I gave her the short answer 

She read our stars out loud 

And I knew then that we should have gone sailing 

But we stayed home instead 

Fighting on the water bed 

Like the honeymoon couple on drugs 

Me and Mary 

What happened in the past 

Remained a mystery of natural history 

She should have been the last 

But she was just the latest 

If she wanted to be a farmer's wife 

I would endure that muddy life 

I would dig for victory 

And the sound of happy couples 

Coupling happily in the dark 

While you and I sat down to tea 

I remember you said to me 

That no amount of poetry 

Would mend this broken heart 

But you can put the Hoover round 

If you want to make a start 

All my friends from school 

Introduce me to their spouses 

While I'm left standing here 

With my hands down the front of my trousers 

I just don't know what's to be done 

I wonder sometimes how did Dad meet Mum 

And how did they conceive of me 

Tell my Mary 

The boys who came to the shop 

Always made her laugh much more than I did 

When I told her this must stop 

She didn't bat an eyelid 

She said you know honey it's such a shame 

You'll never be any good at this game 

You bruise too easily 

So said Mary 

Her two brothers took me out 

Of circulation for the duration 

So we went our separate ways but does she still love me 

She still has my door key 

Like a bully boy in a Benetton shop 

You're never happy with what you've got 

Till what you've got is gone 

Sorry Mary