That's not quite what I thought it was...

Marie is not just my sister's middle name, it was the name my paternal grandmother went by.  (Her given name?  Pheenie.  Millennials do not have the market on funky names cornered.)

My father told me once when I was a teenager that his dad used to sing his mom a song that Bob Wills** had done.  The name of this song was "Marie"; the opening lines were "Marie, the dawn is breaking/Marie, the sky is waking..."

So naturally when I had my own Marie, I set out to find the words to this song, thinking it was surely a sweet little love song.

Er, not so much:

Marie, the dawn is breaking

Marie, you'll soon be waking

To find your heart is aching

And tears will fall as you recall

The moon in all its splendor

A kiss so very tender

The words "Will you surrender

To me, Marie?"

(Lyrics & music by Irving Berlin.)

Huh.

Now, my husband has noted in the past that, in spite of what Tipper Gore might believe, violence and sexual content are nothing new in the world of popular music, and how right he is.  Unlike in some songs, nothing is spelled out here, but I get the distinct impression the song's Marie is on the verge of a  nine-month-long "trip abroad".

Given my family, I really should have expected something like this...







**For the record, it doesn't appear as though Bob Wills ever recorded it, or if he did it was not released as a single.  I'm betting it was sung a few times in concert, though, once it was popularized by Tommy Dorsey.