Along Comes Mary


"Along Comes Mary" is a song composed by Tandyn Almer, originally recorded in 1966 by the Association, and released on their debut album And Then... Along Comes the Association. It was their first hit and reached number seven on the U.S. charts.
"Along Comes Mary" is sung from the point of view of a once-disillusioned young man talking about the "tribulations no one ever sees" and who "curse those faults in me." The singer believes Mary gives him comfort and improves his life. An acquaintance of Almer claimed in an interview that "Mary" refers to marijuana, though it is unclear if Almer ever confirmed this. In the Young People's Concert titled What Is a Mode? Leonard Bernstein explained that the song was composed in the Dorian mode.
The song has been covered by several artists, most notably the Bloodhound Gang.

Cover versions

In 1966, South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela included the song on his album Hugh Masekela's Next Album, and the Baja Marimba Band's jazzy tango remake hit the top 100 in 1967. That same year, Cal Tjader covered it for his album Along Comes Cal, and the following year George Benson included a version on his album Giblet Gravy.
It was covered by R. Stevie Moore in 1986, The Manhattan Transfer on their 1995 album Tonin', and by 24-7 Spyz in 1996.
Bloodhound Gang recorded a version in 1997, writing new punk music to accompany the lyrics. It first appeared on the 1998 soundtrack to the film Half Baked, before appearing on the Bloodhound Gang's album Hooray for Boobies the following year. The song reached No.5 in Austria, No. 6 in Germany and No. 13 in Switzerland, also reaching No. 13 on the German year-end charts.
It was covered by German Blue Flames in 2001, The Guess Who and Plainsong both covered it in 2005, and The Folkswingers covered it in 2007.

Uses in popular culture

The Association's version appears in the 2011 film That's What I Am.