The Ballad of Jay and Rose Mary - Strawbs

The sun was rising slowly

Furnace hot at dawn

Jay was in his hammock

Whittling on a horn

I was in the kitchen

Munching stale cakes

Thinking about Rose Mary

And how the cookie breaks

All in all it’s just another down-home day

Rose Mary was nineteen

Slender as a wand

Jay was something else

A bullfrog in a pond

A viper in disguise

A rattler in a sack

If you cared to call it

He would double slap you back

Rose Mary was smitten

She fell for Jay in style

Just like Robert Mitchum

Full of menace with a smile

Fluttered her eye lashes

Half an inch of hunch

Jay was like a school-boy

A kid in need of lunch

Jay took her to a diner

And told her of his power

He checked into a hotel room

But only booked an hour

Rose Mary was no mug

She didn’t miss a thing

When Jay stepped on the gas

Whipping off his ring

His wedding ring was buried

In the pocket of his pants

Which Rose Mary was going through

While Jay was scratching ants

He opened up the bathroom door

Feeling ill at ease

But Rose Mary was long gone

With his clothing and his keys

I was getting ready

To round up missing steers

When Rose Mary came knocking

In a crocodile of tears

She asked me what my name was

I said my name was Jay

She asked me did I sleep well

I said most every day

They say that money talks

Mine just said goodbye