Scholarly and critical reviews often debate three primary "layers" of the song:

: Within the band's fictional lore, the song was supposedly written and recorded in the 1960s by a younger "Papa Nihil" for "Sister Imperator".

While there isn't a single "MP3 download" academic paper, there are several fascinating analyses and "literary papers" exploring the deeper meanings and viral success of the Ghost track Core Interpretations of "Mary on a Cross"

: The chorus line "you go down just like Holy Mary" is widely analyzed as a sexual metaphor. Some analysts argue it uses religious imagery as a "thinly veiled ode" to intimacy, blending the sacred and the profane in typical Ghost fashion.