Richard Marx - Hazard - Who Killed Mary?

Back


Richard Marx - Hazard - Clip musical do Richard Marx - Hazard was immortalised as the setting of the Richard Marx song "Hazard", which told the tale of a disenfranchised young man, who, because he had no father, was an easy target for prejudice. He befriended a young woman called Mary, who subsequently disappeared, leaving the protagonist as the chief suspect. The name was arrived at by Richard Marx thanks to his liking for the lyric "this old Nebraska town." He wrote to Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, asking for a list of Nebraska towns - Hazard was perfect for his needs (although there is no nearby river, and the lyrics refer to one).



Who Killed Mary? - Hazard, Nebraska


This question was likely purposely left unanswered, however, arguments can be made for several points of view.

Marx's Character

By listening strictly to the lyrics, one might infer that Marx's character murdered Mary. He gives statements that could be interpreted as conflicting, such as "No one understood what I felt for Mary / No one cared until the night she went out walking alone / And never came home..." followed in the refrain by "I swear I left her by the river / I swear I left her safe and sound..." This may cause some to wonder how he left her by the river if she was walking alone. Others may simply take it to mean the river is the last place he saw her.

In the video, Marx's character has clearly suffered a troubled childhood and it is depicted that it affects his adult life deeply. When he sees Mary with another man, it is possible that he flies into a jealous rage, follows her to the river, and kills her, later returning home to mourn his loss.



The Sheriff

The video seems to heavily imply that the Sheriff is guilty. He is seen following one or both of them, taking their pictures, and even keeping pictures of Mary in his squad car. Mary is also shown running away from the squad car on one occasion.

The sheriff identifies a white cloth as the murder weapon while interrogating Marx. It appears to be the same white scarf Marx lost on the branch of the bush the night Mary was killed, and the sheriff was the only other person visible at the scene.

Motives could include the sheriff's possible jealousy of Marx and Mary, and the desire to exile Marx permanently from the town by framing him.



Mary's Lover

It is also possible that Mary's unidentified lover could be the killer, perhaps because he may have seen Marx lingering outside Mary's house. However, the viewer is given little else to help them come to this conclusion.

Channel: Music
Uploaded: January 24, 2007 at 5:32 am
Author: cambizes

Length: 00:04:42
Rating: 4.91
Views: 464621

Tags: Richard_Marx Hazard Clip musical

Video Comments:
pixiespider (October 10, 2008 at 3:28 pm)
amazing. amazing amazing amazing. childhood favourite track, heard on absolute radio the other day, found it on youtube and saw the vid for the first time... wow. epic or what! they just don't make songs like this anymore.
bettyCA9 (October 10, 2008 at 12:24 pm)
*Great video but see "The Room" by Tommy Wiseau! AWESOME
**DISCOVER "The Room MOVIE" by Tommy Wiseau! It's FUN!**
Blueyy (October 10, 2008 at 1:23 am)
simply awesome tune !
kendo322 (October 9, 2008 at 11:51 pm)
i 2nd that mate!!
JeffCyr1990 (October 9, 2008 at 4:32 pm)
2nd best Marx's song after Right here waiting
aludar (October 9, 2008 at 6:22 am)
I luv this song.
Guitarmaniac007 (October 7, 2008 at 12:49 pm)
her daughters chrisy girl and lisa.. miss you cus. I miss you I wish I was there with you Love you You are always in my heart love mal
Guitarmaniac007 (October 7, 2008 at 12:40 pm)
this song goes out to my friend maria hawkins. cus i miss you my friend. i love you :-)
strikeaviolentpose21 (October 6, 2008 at 5:41 am)
that comment was for lisamarie i was paying attention when i posted that
strikeaviolentpose21 (October 6, 2008 at 5:37 am)
that makes the most sense because he lies about dating her.