Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand

"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 acoustic guitar and an arrangement using Latin percussion instruments. The song has ambiguous lyrics that have been subject to a variety of interpretations. Four different recordings of the song have been released by The Who. It was later performed by a number of other artists.

"Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand"
Single by The Who
from the album The Who Sell Out
B-side"I Can't Reach You"
Released2 February 1968
Recorded24 October 1967. De Lane Lea Studios, London
GenrePop[1]
Length2:09 (2:28 full version)[2]
LabelTrack
Songwriter(s)Pete Townshend
Producer(s)Kit Lambert

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[3] but does not provide any description of her appearance,[3] focusing instead on Mary Anne's hand tremor.[3][4][5] The reason for the shaking is not clear:[3][4] Mary Anne may have some affliction[4] or else 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"):[4][6] Steve Grantley and Alan Parker suggest that the reason can be inferred from the line "What they've done 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." [5] Rolling Stone praised the "barely-beneath-the-surface humor of the lyric".[7]

The song has a melody described by Allmusic's Mark Deming as "charming" and "a tune you couldn't forget even if you tried".[3] Author John Atkins describes the song as a "delightful pop song in the Everly Brothers mold",[6] while Charlesworth suggests that, regardless of the lyrics, the song "would have been a winner on melody alone".[4] Grantley and Parker describe the vocals as a cross between The Mamas and the Papas and Simon and Garfunkel.[5]

Who recordings

The acoustic guitar version of the song on The Who Sell Out was recorded at De Lane Lea Studios on 24 October 1967.[8]

A different version of the song, using electric guitar, was used in 1967 as the B-side of the "I Can See for Miles" single in the US and Australia.[4][6] The B-side version used a mono mix. A stereo remix of this version was also included on the 1998 remastered version of the Odds and Sods album.[5][9] On this version, a tremolo effect is added to Roger Daltrey's voice on the word "shaky".[4]

A third studio version was recorded at Mirasound Studios in New York City in 1967 using electric guitar[4][5] but also featuring Al Kooper on organ.[4][5] This version is incorrectly stated as being the B-side of "I Can See For Miles" in the liner notes of the remastered The Who Sell Out, when in fact the second version was on the B-side.

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 Townsend says, "This one's in very bad taste".[10]

Other appearances

It has been released with title variations, sometimes as "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hands", also hyphenated (on the MCA LP) as "Mary-Anne with the Shaky Hands".[11]

"Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" was also used as the B-side of the "Magic Bus" single in Norway.[12] It has also been included on several compilation albums. The acoustic version was included on the 1968 compilation album Direct Hits.[4][13] The electric version was included on the 1985 compilation album Who's Missing.[4][14] It was also included on the 1994 compilation album Rarities Volume I & Volume II.[15] The acoustic version was also included on the box set Thirty Years of Maximum R&B.[4][16] It was released as a single in the Netherlands backed with "I Can't Reach You".[8]

Other versions

The Nils released "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" on their 1996 album Green Fields in Daylight.[17] Petra Haden recorded the song on her 2005 album Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out.[18] Opal Butterfly covered the song on the multi-artist compilation album What's the Rush, Time Machine Man? Psychedelic Jumble, Vol. 1.[19] Chris Richards performed the song on the Who tribute album Who's Not Forgotten: FDR's Tribute to the Who.[20]

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References
  1. https://www.allmusic.com/song/mary-anne-with-the-shaky-hand-mt0034854236
  2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-who-sell-out-mw0000652659
  3. Deming, M. "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  4. Charlesworth, C. (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of The Who. Omnibus Press. pp. 17–18, 101, 113, 119, 123. ISBN 0-7119-4306-0.
  5. Grantley, S. & Parker, A.G. (2010). The Who by Numbers. Helter Skelter Publishing. pp. 49, 128. ISBN 978-1-905139-26-2.
  6. Atkins, J. (2000). The Who on record: a critical history, 1963–1998. McFarland. pp. 91–93. ISBN 978-0-7864-0609-8.
  7. "The Who Sell Out". Rolling Stone Magazine. February 10, 1968. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
  8. Charlesworth, C. "The Who Sell Out Liner Notes". thewho.net. Archived from the original on 2011-12-10. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
  9. Unterberger, R. "Odds and Sods". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  10. Erlewine, S.T. "Live at the Royal Albert Hall". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  11. "Sinister Vinyl Collection". Sinister Salad Musikal's Weblog. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  12. "Magic Bus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  13. Eder, B. "Direct Hits". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  14. Unterberger, R. "Who's Missing". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  15. Prato, G. "Rarities 1966–1972, Vols. 1–2". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  16. Unterberger, R. "Thirty Years of Maximum R&B". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  17. Rabid, J. "Green Fields in Daylight". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  18. Sendra, T. "Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  19. "What's the Rush, Time Machine Man? Psychedelic Jumble, Vol. 1". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  20. Sendra, T. "Who's Not Forgotten: FDR's Tribute to the Who". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
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