Song Successes from GEO. M. COHAN'S Latest Musical Play
"Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway"
Played by Fay Templeton
under the direction of
Klaw & Erlanger
"Mary's a Grand Old Name" (3 Oct. 1905)
by George Michael Cohan, 1878-1942

[Source: pp. 187-190 from "Favorite Songs in the Nineties"]

1.
My mother's name was Mary, she was so good and true;
Because her name was Mary, she called me Mary too.
She wasn't gay or airy, but plain as she could be;
I hate to meet a fairy who calls herself Marie.

CHORUS [sung twice after each verse]
For it is Mary, Mary, plain as any name can be;
But with propriety, society will say Marie;
But it was Mary, Mary, long before the fashions came,
And there is something there that sounds so square,
It's a grand old name.


2.
Now, when her name is Mary, there is no falseness there;
When to Marie she'll vary, she'll surely bleach her hair.
Though Mary's ordinary, Marie is fair to see;
Don't ever fear sweet Mary, beware of sweet Marie.