MARY BOONE

"Mary Boone" is the eighth track from Vampire Weekend's fifth studio album, Only God Was Above Us. Lead singer Ezra Koenig shared the following about the song: "When I’ve thought about ‘is this song particularly about Mary Boone the person, her life, her journey, whatever?’ Not really. The song is addressed to Mary Boone. I mean, I think I like the fact that she came from small-town Pennsylvania and came to New York, she’s a daughter of Egyptian immigrants… obviously became a huge deal in the New York art world, but I like the idea that this is about the next generation, maybe. When I picture these words, the opening is “Painted white/new in town/you weren’t hiring/but I was looking,” it’s like, what is a big city like New York? It’s wave after wave of ambitious people in various industries coming to make a name for themselves and over and over again the tide, the waves keep crashing, new people… I like the idea of the person who’s trying to get her attention." - Ezra Koenig, Time Crisis #211

[Verse 1] Painted white, new in town You weren't hiring, but I was looking In those days, my working days Came in from Jersey, not from Brooklyn [Pre-Chorus] Oh, my love, was it all in vain? We always wanted money, now the money's not the same In a quiet moment at the theater, I could hear the train Deep inside the city, your memory remains [Chorus] Mary Boone, Mary Boone I'm on the dark side of your room Mary Boone, Mary Boone Well, I hope you feel like loving someone soon [Verse 2] Crooked crime, petty cop Not on thе street yet, but it was cooking In those days, the burning days Thе one from Queens, not from Brooklyn [Pre-Chorus] Oh, my love, was it all in vain? We always wanted money, now the money's not the same In a quiet moment at the theater, I could feel your pain Deep inside the city, your memory remains [Chorus] Mary Boone, Mary Boone I'm on the dark side of your room Mary Boone, Mary Boone Well, I hope you feel like loving someone soon [Bridge] Book of hours, Russian icons And sand mandalas and Natarajas And hex-sign barns, Ando churches And whirling dervishes, long exposures And these two tunnels go west and east Let me bring you my masterpiece You're the author of everything Use this voice and let it sing [Chorus] Mary Boone, Mary Boone I'm on the dark side of your room Mary Boone, Mary Boone I hope you feel like loving someone soon [Outro] Painted wh—