Left: Allen Warren, Wikimedia Commons / RIght: Mercury Records
This song is about the woman who deflowered Stewart when he was 16. In the January 2007 issue of Q magazine, Stewart said: “Maggie May was more or less a true story, about the first woman I had sex with, at the Beaulieu Jazz Festival. It nearly got left off because the label said it didn’t have a melody. I said, ‘Well, we’ve run out of time now, these are all the tracks we’ve recorded. They said, Alright, then, bring it on.”
The name “Maggie May” does not occur in the song; Rod borrowed the title from a Liverpool folk song about a Lime Street prostitute. Stewart’s record company didn’t think this was a hit, so they released it as the B-side of “Reason To Believe.” Disc jockeys liked “Maggie” better, so they played it as the single instead. The first station to flip the single and play it as the A-side was WOKY in Milwaukee.
(source)
Wake up, Maggie I think I got something to say to you
It’s late September and I really should be back at school
I know I keep you amused, but I feel I’m being used
Oh, Maggie, I couldn’t have tried any more
You led me away from home
Just to save you from being alone
You stole my heart, and that’s what really hurts
The morning sun, when it’s in your face really shows your age
But that don’t worry me none in my eyes, you’re everything
I laughed at all of your jokes
My love you didn’t need to coax
Oh, Maggie, I couldn’t have tried any more
You led me away from home
Just to save you from being alone
You stole my soul, and that’s a pain I can do without.
All I needed was a friend to lend a guiding hand
But you turned into a lover, and, mother, what a lover you wore me out
All you did was wreck my bed
And, in the morning, kick me in the head
Oh, Maggie, I couldn’t have tried any more
You led me away from home
‘Cause you didn’t want to be alone
You stole my heart, I couldn’t leave you if I tried
I suppose I could collect my books and get on back to school
Or steal my daddy’s cue and make a living out of playing pool
Or find myself a rock ‘n’ roll band
That needs a helping hand
Oh, Maggie, I wish I’d never seen your face
You made a first-class fool out of me
But I’m as blind as a fool can be
You stole my heart, but I love you anyway
Maggie I wish that I’d never seen your face
I’ll get a ride home one of these days
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