" Cross-Eyed Mary" is a song by the United Kingdom progressive rock band Jethro Tull from their album Aqualung (1971).
The song is about "Cross-Eyed Mary", a schoolgirl prostitute who prefers the company of "leching greys" over her schoolmates. It was intended as a companion piece to "Aqualung", the opening album track about a homeless man. The Aqualung character is given a cameo in "Cross-Eyed Mary"'s lyrics.
"Cross-Eyed Mary" was ranked the 12th best Jethro Tull song in the book Rock - Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check.
Recorded appearances
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Aqualung (1971)
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Repeat – The Best of Jethro Tull – Vol II (1977)
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25th Anniversary Box Set (1993)
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The Best of Jethro Tull – The Anniversary Collection (1993)
Personnel
- Jethro Tull
- Additional personnel
Iron Maiden version
Iron Maiden has covered the song, which has been released in different ways (see
Piece of Mind, "
The Trooper",
The First Ten Years and
Best of the 'B' Sides). In a 2022 interview with
BraveWords, Anderson discussed his thoughts about Maiden's cover, stating, "A spirited rendition by a young Bruce testing out his vocal range in a key not really suited to him!"