Lyrics

There is an artist whose work was rejected
Five thousand times, she says five thousand times
She was known as Scary Mari
To those who liked to whine

The art world and the galleries
Denied Mari a member card
So she displayed her artistry
In the only way that she knew how
And her house became a canvas
A sculpture garden her front lawn
But some neighbors and alarmists
Wanted her to take it down
So they took their righteous grumblings
To the city authority
Where they cowardly filed them
In anonymity

There is an artist whose work was rejected
Five thousand times, she says five thousand times
She was known as Scary Mari
To homeowners who liked to whine

An Alice in Wonderland
Experience was Mari’s place
Exquisite in its intricate
Colored pattern interlace
But the local punks defaced it
The complainers had their say
When the rulings of the city took her
Sculptures away
As a final humiliation
Charged Mari a hefty bill
For hauling her inspired works
To the landfill

There is an artist whose work was rejected
Five thousand times, she says five thousand times
She was known as Scary Mari
To those who liked to whine

The rejections and complaints
Lay bitter dark in Mari’s heart
Yet bright and whimsy paints
Animated her keen art
But the painful public struggle
Ends in a lovely twist of fate
For the conflict drew the art critics
To put her work on their plate
They saw true originality
In her stunning folk-art imageries
And now her works hang in dignity
In very fine art galleries.

There is an artist whose work was rejected
Five thousand times, she says five thousand times