Maggie

Album: Going Somewhere (2001)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, Colin Hay (best known as the frontman for Men At Work), sings about a girl he grows up with who presumably kills herself, leaving him a note that reads:

    Hey, darlin' boy
    Don't you cry for me
    I am forever yours
    Now that I am free

    We'll be together
    Throw stones into the sea
    There'll be no others there
    Just you and me


    He dreams about her, thinking of the day they can be together, throwing stones into the sea.

    It's a song that demonstrates Hay's prowess for telling a poignant story, which made his solo shows a big draw.
  • In our 2017 interview with Colin Hay, he said that "Maggie" is a real person, but he made up the story. "The person was this girl that I knew when I was young when I lived in Scotland," he said. "I was sitting in my house in Los Angeles about 20 years ago. I hadn't written a song for a while, and I was feeling a little guilty. I was feeling like I hadn't really been working on songs like I should have. It was a Sunday and I thought, 'Well, it's unlikely that I'm going to go to church.' So, I just thought, 'I better write a song. I'll try to write a song.'

    I sat down on this chair and I had a guitar. I just thought about this girl that I knew when I was young. She came into my mind and then I just wrote down the song in about 40 minutes. And while I was writing the song, the verses, I was weeping convulsively.

    So, it was just a story that came from somebody real, but the actual body of the story is fiction."
  • Hay has described the real Maggie as an "older woman" he liked in Scotland - she was 9 years old and he was 8.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

Justin Timberlake

Justin TimberlakeFact or Fiction

Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?

Joan Armatrading

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."

Supertramp founder Roger Hodgson

Supertramp founder Roger HodgsonSongwriter Interviews

Roger tells the stories behind some of his biggest hits, including "Give a Little Bit," "Take the Long Way Home" and "The Logical Song."

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"They're Playing My Song

The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?