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Poison To The People!

by Danny Ramirez

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1.
Mary Had A Thing For Arsenic Poisoning! 03:31
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Around 1880 A woman named Mary Took care of her neighbours Until they got buried But the young and the elderly In Leiden city Had plenty of reasons To call her Goeie Mie Chorus: Mary Swanenburg Babysitter, cook and nurse Tried to take a hundred lives And in the end more than 20 had died Mary had a thing For arsenic poisoning Used in heavy doses But on one did notice For some of her victims She took out life insurance For others she cooked poisoned food Simply because she could Chorus Mary Swanenburg She’s still Holland’s worst Serial killer to date To die behind bars was her fate 'After having written so many songs about fictional serial killers and murder cases, for the most part of 2022 I had trouble coming up with new lyrics. So, since the release of the Highway Of Tears! EP in September 2022 was about true crime late November 2022 I decided to focus on more true crime lyrics. Although there are some other ideas up my sleeve that I have been working on since, in December I wrote this slow song about Maria Swanenburg -- also known as Goeie Mie (pronounced as 'goo-yuh me') -- who around 1880 poisoned over 20 people in the city of Leiden. Living close to Leiden and playing gigs and hanging out there regularly strangely enough I had never written a song about or inspired by Goeie Mie, but eleven days before the end of 2022 I finally did. Mary Had A Thing! was first performed live on February 5, 2023.'
2.
Pissing Blood, Diarrhea And Vomiting! 02:45
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Mary began her killing spree To make easy money She would secure life insurance policies So ev’ry month Mary paid her fees To life insurance companies Her future victims weren’t aware their end was near Chorus: Pissing blood, stomach pain Muscle cramps and headache Diarrhea and vomiting Sudden organ failure Of kidneys, lungs and liver Affected by arsenic poisoning Mary bought her arsenic At a local pharmacist She told him it was to get rid of rats and lice Dozens of fell victim To the poison Mary gave them Twenty-two* died and many barely survived Chorus *Depending on the source the number of deadly victims of Goeie Mie varies between 22 and 27. Because I didn’t want to accuse her of more murders than she committed I use ‘22 dead’ in the lyrics for this EP. 'The lyrics list some of the symptoms of arsenic poisoning and tell about the fact that Mary initially started murdering people to get money from life insurance companies. Back in the 1800s you could take out a life insurance policy on anyone, as long as you paid the monthly fees. Mary paid around 10 cents a month for each person and received a life insurance pay-out of about 50 guilders for each person that died. She secured life insurance policies at different companies. The music is mid to up tempo and sounds pretty positive and upbeat for a song about what arsenic does to the human body. Pissing Blood! got its live debut on September 9, 2023.'
3.
Parents Thought Their Children Would Be Save! 02:09
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In between helping the sick and the old Mary looked after the young Watching the kids at several homes She sometimes brought her poison along And although she got paid Working as a maid And parents thought their children would be save They didn’t have a clue That by eating Mary’s food Their kids could end up in an early grave One of the children was only four And around the time she turned five Mary did poison her, gave her some more Nursed her for days till she died At the funeral wake Before the burial took place Mary served the guests the coffee she had made She thought it would be funny To poison everybody And all got sick from arsenic that day Mary had different motives to kill Financial gain wasn’t always her goal If not for the money, it was for the thrill It seems she wanted to be in control 'This song tells of the fact that Mary looked after kids for money, but even killed some of those children with arsenic. Which seems strange, because by doing so she lost part of her income since the kids were dead. In one case she even poisoned the people who visited the grieving parents for the funeral wake of their murdered young daughter. Only for about 15 of her 22 confirmed victims Mary had secured life insurance policies, so it is clear money wasn’t always the reason to kill. Unfortunately she never explained her motives.'
4.
She Poisoned An Entire Family! 02:14
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The longer Mary got away with murder The more she got convinced nothing could hurt her So in December 1883 She poisoned an entire family Chorus: A father, mother and their kid Ate porridge laced with arsenic Two died and one got sick ’Twas the last thing Mary did Mary knew they kept porridge in a pan When they were out she went in with a poisonous plan But Mary was witnessed by a neighbour And got arrested a couple of days later Chorus: A father, mother and their kid Ate porridge laced with arsenic The father lived for two more weeks His doctor informed the police Who then dug up suspected victims of Mary And her true nature was revealed 'This is a slow to mid tempo song about the poisoning case that led to the discovery of Mary Swanenburg. In December 1883 she poisoned a young couple and their newborn son. The mother and son died within 24 hours, but the father lived for two more weeks and managed to visit a doctor. The doctor noticed a pattern, ’cause he had been visited by someone with similar symptoms of arsenic poisoning shortly before. He notified the police and Goeie Mie got arrested as around the time the family of three got sick she was seen inside their house when they were out. She admitted to putting arsenic in the porridge the family ate when they came back home. Mary had secured life insurance policies for all three. The vocal melody of the first line in the chorus was inspired by the 1971 Lobo song Me And You And A Dog Named Boo. This song only got played live at the 6 gigs that were done during Gluren bij de Buren and Stukafest, on February 4 and 9, 2024.'
5.
A Merciful Punishment Is What Mary Hoped To Get! 03:24
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Sixteen months after being caught Mary finally appeared in court She didn’t speak much, showed no remorse “Please, a merciful punishment” Is about all she said But with 22 dead The judge didn’t grant her request Chorus: In April of 1885 Mary was put away For the rest of her life Yeah, in April of 1885 She was put away Until her final day Her next 30 years Mary Spent under lock and key She died in prison in April of 1915 A merciful punishment Is what Mary hoped to get But with 22 dead What did she expect? Chorus 'Early May 2023 the idea rose to release an online EP about Maria Swanenburg. Indecisive about which parts of her story I should cover, on May 10 I first wrote the lyrics for the final song and about 10 days later came up with the music. During her court appearance in April 1885 Maria didn’t speak much and only felt sorry for herself, asking the judge for a merciful punishment. Luckily for Goeie Mie the death penalty had been abolished in the Netherlands 15 years before, but she would spend the remaining 30 years of her life in prison. The song appeared on the set list for the first time on September 9, 2023.'

about

Danny's 2023 EP, with songs about Goeie Mie (birthname Maria Catharina Swanenburg, 1839-1915), who in the 1870s and 1880s poisoned dozens of people with arsenic in the city of Leiden and got arrested in 1883.

credits

released August 24, 2023

Songs recorded at the Ramirez Recording Room in June, July and August 2023.

Used were a Studiomaster ClubXS6+ mixing desk, Audacity music editor, an acoustic guitar of Taiwanese origin, nylon D'Addario strings (1.09-0.71 millimetres/.043-.028 inches), a black and white 'tiger print' striped electric Hohner guitar (model 'SR Heavy'), Ernie Ball strings (.042 to .009 inches), a Fender pick from 1983, a Technics sx-KN3000 keyboard, a mouth harp, two mikado sticks and a Shure PG-57 microphone.

Mixed on several dates from 13 to 23 August 2023 at the Ramirez Recording Room, using Audacity music editor.

Cover: prison booking picture of Goeie Mie, taken in December 1883 (most likely on December 18 at the Huis van Arrest in Den Haag).

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Danny Ramirez Leiden, Netherlands

Danny Ramirez is a singer-songwriter from the Netherlands and the guitar player for stonerdoom band Toner Low! Besides playing morbid folk he has some one-man bands as well, but most of his releases are Ramirez EPs! Danny did solo gigs in the Netherlands, Finland, France and Germany, and played with a.o. Amigo The Devil, Bob Wayne, Joe Buck Yourself (Hank III) and The Goddamn Gallows! ... more

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