Richard Thompson - For the Sake of Mary Lyrics

For the sake of Mary I kicked the reds
Junked the juice, drink coffee instead
Straightened my teeth, bent my back
Cut my friends dead from the old rat pack
For Mary

She bought me this silk suit, watch and chain
She put the rhythm in my stride again
She showed me the way to make her feel good
If I could do more then I surely would
For Mary

For Mary
For the sake of Mary I do what I can
She still don't trust me to be her man
I say the right thing but my timing's bad
She thinks I'm like the rest, but I'm the best she's ever had

For the sake of Mary
I was cook first class on the Belfast be
But when she sailed she sailed without me
In Needle Pete's got my last tattoo
In bleeding letters of red and blue

For Mary
For the sake of Mary I changed my drift
Got a good job on the graveyard shift
She set her heart on a pretty little place
I want to see the tears of joy on her face

For Mary
For the sake of Mary I keep the flame
I don't want to be the villain again
She's had her bad times and it's shook her about
I don't want to take the easy way out

For the sake of Mary