Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand
| "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by the Who | |
| from the album The Who Sell Out | |
| B-side | "I Can't Reach You" |
| Released | 2 February 1968 |
| Recorded | 24 October 1967 |
| Studio | De Lane Lea, London |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:28 (album version)[3] 2:09 (Norwegian single edit) 3:16 ("electric" single version) |
| Label | Track |
| Songwriter(s) | Pete Townshend |
| Producer(s) | Kit Lambert |
"Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Who. It was written by Pete Townshend and released on their 1967 album The Who Sell Out. The best known version of the song has an arrangement using acoustic guitar and Latin percussion instruments.
The song has ambiguous lyrics that have been subject to a variety of interpretations. At least five different recordings of the song have been officially released by the Who.
Lyrics and music
Unlike many Who songs from the 1960s, "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" recalls the typical pop song convention of praising a pretty girl[4] but does not provide any description of her appearance,[4] focusing instead on Mary Anne's hand tremor.[4][5][6] The reason for the shaking is not clear:[4][5] Mary Anne may have some affliction[5] and/or the song may be, as Chris Charlesworth describes it, the Who's "second great song about masturbation" (after the band's 1967 single "Pictures of Lily"):[5][7] Steve Grantley and Alan Parker suggest that the reason can be inferred from the line "What they do to a man, those shaky hands." However, some versions of the song use the lyrics: "What they've done to her, man, those shaky hands."[6] Rolling Stone praised the "barely-beneath-the-surface humor of the lyric".[8] Townshend has also introduced the song with "This next one's written in very bad taste", as on Live at the Royal Albert Hall.
The song has a melody described by
Who recordings
The acoustic guitar version on The Who Sell Out album was recorded at
effect at the end on the words "shaky hand".A different studio version, using electric guitar, was released in 1967 as the B-side of the "
An "alternative" studio version was recorded at Mirasound Studios in New York City in 1967 using electric guitar[5][6] but also featuring Al Kooper on organ.[5][6] This version was a bonus track on the 1995 remastered version of The Who Sell Out. The notes for this album incorrectly state that it was the B-side version, however, it was actually the second version on the B-side. In 2021 the Who released a "Super Deluxe" edition of The Who Sell Out that contained a previously unreleased 1967 Townshend home demo of the song.
A live version, recorded on 27 November 2000, was released on the 2003 Live at the Royal Albert Hall album. When introducing the song, Pete Townshend says, "This one's in very bad taste".[11]
Other appearances
The song has been released with several title variations: "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hands"; "Mary-Anne with the Shaky Hands" (on the MCA LP);[12] and "Mary Anne with the Shakey Hand".
"Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" was also used as the B-side of the "Magic Bus" single in Norway.[13] It has also been included on several compilation albums. The acoustic version was included on the 1968 compilation album Direct Hits.[5][14] The mono B-side version was included on the 1985 compilation album Who's Missing.[5][15]
The song was also included on the 1994 compilation album Rarities Volume I & Volume II.[16] The acoustic version was also included in the box set Thirty Years of Maximum R&B.[5][17] It was released as a single in the Netherlands backed with "I Can't Reach You".
References
- ISBN 9782378482060.
- ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
- ^ "The Who Sell Out - the Who | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- ^ ISBN 0-7119-4306-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-905139-26-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-0609-8.
- Rolling Stone Magazine. February 10, 1968. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
- ^ Charlesworth, C. "The Who Sell Out Liner Notes". thewho.net. Archived from the original on 2011-12-10. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- ^ "Sinister Vinyl Collection". Sinister Salad Musikal's Weblog. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- ^ "Magic Bus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- ^ Prato, G. "Rarities 1966–1972, Vols. 1–2". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
