Album: Greatest Hits (1973)

Charted: 1

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• Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?
  Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
  And did I hear you say he was ameetin' you here today
  To take you to his mansion in the sky
  
  She's forty-one and her daddy still calls her baby
  All the folks around Brownsville say she's crazy
  'Cause she walks downtown with a suitcase in her hand
  Lookin' for a mysterious dark-haired man
  
  In her younger days they called her Delta Dawn
  Prettiest woman you ever laid eyes on
  Then a man of low degree stood by her side
  And promised her he'd take her for his bride
  
  Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?
  Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
  And did I hear you say he was ameetin' you here today
  To take you to his mansion in the sky
  
  Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?
  Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
  And did I hear you say he was ameetin' you here today
  To take you to his mansion in the sky
  
  Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?
  Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
  And did I hear you say he was ameetin' you here today
  To take you to his mansion in the sky
  
  Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?
  Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
  And did I hear you say he was ameetin' you here today
  To take you to his mansion in the sky
  
  Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?
  Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
  And did I hear you say he was ameetin' you here today
  To take you to his mansion in the sky Writer/s: Alex Harvey, Larry Collins
  Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 28

• Ricci Boldt from Ottumwa, Iowa.What an entertainer. Saw her on stage in Ames, Iowa at the College. Love her!
• Rcmp from Burpengary East Queensland AustraliaWho had the mansion in the sky, what is the significance?
• Fred M from CaliforniaPeople conveniently ignoring the line about taking her to his mansion in the sky when refuting the song's links to Christianity...
• Tess W from Cloverdale, California My (ex)sister in laws name is 'Della'...so we'd call her 'Delta Dawn'...love that song
• Chris from Charlotte N.c.Could you add more songs from Tanya Tucker under the headings? Her's is equally well know as Reddy's
• Chris from Charlotte N.c.You failed to mention that Alex Harvey (US Singer) HIMSELF was the first to record the song as the closing track on his 1971 self titled LP. Backing vocals are Dianne Davidson and Tracy Nelson
  Here is that original version by Harvey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g3I6oVLecg
  Also to me, Tanya Tucker's recording is more familiar than Reddy's
• Delta Dawn Lynch from Pennsylvaniahttp://www.chickensoup.com/book-story/23552/13-delta-dawn
• Delta Dawn Lynch from PennsylvaniaInteresting reading about my name! Was gogling myself and found this page. I was born in 1972 and named after the song.
• Jbg from New York AreaTo Jim: David Alan Coe wrote "Field of Stones," a song Tanya Tucker made a hit out of in 1974. Last night, February 20, 2016 she segued from "Amazing Grace" into "Delta Dawn."
• Laura from Nashville, TnActually, I saw Alex Harvey a couple of months ago at the Bluebird Cafe and he explained the TRUE inspiration for the song when he introduced it as his last song in the round. The song is not about Mary Magdalene or Rose Taylor MacKensie, but was in fact inspired by Harvey's own mother. She grew up in west TN (can't remember if it was actually Brownsville or not, but probably close by) and married Harvey's father who was from an upper class family. She was never truly accepted by her husband's family and struggled with depression. She committed suicide when Harvey was only a boy. It was a terribly tragic and moving story and makes me appreciate the song in an entirely new light.
• Thom from Cary, NcThe song Delta Dawn was written by Alex Harvey of Brownsville TN, no relation to the Alex Harvey band. The song is about Rose Taylor MacKensie, (the faded rose from days gone by) a woman from Brownsville, TN. The lyrics are not about the modern day Mary Magdalene. Rose Taylor MacKensie is the mother of Melissa Taylor MacKensie who was my grade school teacher and a friend of my family. Rose was not treated properly by a man, left behind wondering, and the song chronicles some of those events and emotions. Delta Dawn comes from the area of West Tennessee which is loosely called "the Tennessee Delta". You can read into the lyrics from those facts. There is no plagiarism in that song from any other, just uninformed imaginations.
• Marshall from Birmingham, MiTo Pat from San Antone: the reason the song sounds like "Amazing Grace" to you is that the chord progression of the chorus is identical in both songs through "days gone by," and then similar the rest of the way as well. I know you received some criticism for saying that, but well spotted. Chord progressions are almost never unique to one pop song, but still and all, you are right: the chords for "Amazing Grace" are similar to those of "Delta Dawn."
• Trish from Sachse, TxPlanning a surprise 40th for my daughter. This will be part of her early years of music. When she was 2 1/2 and we were driving down the road she would sing this song, over and over and over. She loved it.
• Lacy from Manhattan, KsI understand the comparison between Delta Dawn and Amazing Grace. Correct me if I am wrong but I'm pretty sure Deb did not mean that they sounded similar. She was talking about the lyrics and the meaning of the songs. They both have Christian symbolism and refer to Mary Magdeline. When you "disect" a song's lyrics and really pay attention, you can learn to appreciate music on such a deeper level.
• Deb from Nowhere Speacial, AzAmazing Grace and Delta Dawn are both about spiritual beliefs. You'd have to understand the song "Delta Dawn" in entirety and with an open mind.The song is full of symbolism. Let's break it down shall we?
  
  "Delta Dawn".. is a fictional name for a modern day Mary Magdeline.
  "What's that flower you have on".. symbolic for what she is carrying i.e. wearning.
  "Could it be a faded rose from days gone by".. a rose is a christian symbol for the Christ child or Our Savior.
  "Faded Rose" means that story of Christ is presently aged. People are losing faith as seen through the coming up of many pegan religions which have distorted the facts. (this is a new meaning to an old story)
  "And did I hear ya say, he was a meetin' you here today".. Delta Dawn speaks of meeting christ in her lifetime, though, she's not sure when or how it will transpire. She gave birth to him not knowing who he really was. She's a visionary of sorts.
  "Top take you to his mansion in the sky".. and he will take her to heaven.
  "She's 41 and her daddy still calls her baby." This happens when she is 41 years old and living at home. (her father still treats her like a child)
  "All the folks round Brownsville say she's crazy".. her reputation in her town is that she is a little "off." But she isn't. She isnt much of a people person..lol.
  "Cuz she walks downtown with a suitcase in her hand." She flaunts that she's never in one place for long. A gypsi of sorts.
  "Looking for a mysterious dark-haired man." Waiting for a lost love (old flame) someone she remembers from long ago who said he would return for her.
  "In her younger days they called her Delta Dawn."
  Delta dawn is her fiction persona. She never allowed people to really know her. She was always pretending to be someone she wasn't.
  "Prettiest woman you ever laid eyes on".. some say she was very attractive.She was also very promiscuous when she was young.
  "Then a man of low degree stood by her side.Promised he he's take her for his bride." Because of this she attracted the wrong man. Very abusive i.e. low degree
  
  That be the story of delta dawn... Modern day Mary Magdeline.
  
• Star from Middle Of Nowhere, CaI agree with Derek. It sounds nothing like Amazing Grace. It does sound like gospel a bit, but not Amazing Grace. It's most definitely not plagiarism! Seriously, try singing amazing grace while listening to Delta Dawn. I've been playing different instruments for the last 11 years, and I've played Amazing Grace on a few of them and it didn't once remind me of Delta Dawn.
  (posted 2-10-08)
• Derek from Cambridge, New ZealandDavid, with all due respect, it's nothing like Amazing Grace!
• Pat from San Antone, Txi was on you tube the other day and heard this song and i thought it reminded me alot of amazing grace.
• David from Deerfield Beach, FlPosted on 11/1/2007. Though not necessarily a favorite of mine anymore, this song holds the special distinction for me personally as being the very first 45 r.p.m. single that I had ever gotten way back when I was a little boy. A collection of mine that eventually grew to over 1500, and this record was the very first one. That being beside the point, in recent years I've made an observation about this song. I don't know if this would count as a songfact or not, but remember how George Harrison lost a plagiarism case about the Chiffons's "He's So Fine" when he made his "My Sweet Lord" record? Despite the same chord progression the 2 songs sound very different & most probably wouldn't have noticed that it might've been plagiarized. Well, I see no reference or credit anywhere to this about "Delta Dawn", but I noticed that the chord progression for the chorus sounds suspiciously like that of the beautiful traditional classic, "Amazing Grace"! Listen carefully, I really think it's true. I believe the writers of this song borrowed from "Amazing Grace" and never gave due credit for it. Although, I thought I heard somewhere that there is some statute of limitation of like 75 years or something regarding royalties perhaps, so it probably wouldn't matter anyway cuz the song is so old. But I was wondering, has anybody else out there ever made this same observation? If so, has anybody ever heard anything about "Delta Dawn" borrowing from or giving credit to "Amazing Grace"?
• John from Gainesville, VaDelta Dawn was written by A. Harvey and L. Collins (United Artists Music Co., inc/Big Ax Music/ASCAP
• Darrell from EugeneAlthough Helen Reddy originally recorded this song, I believe that Buford Wilson from the Tanya Tucker hit "What's Your Mama's Name" is the "mysterious dark-haired man" from this song. If anyone knows otherwise, please leave me a comment so that myself and others can know about it.
• Naomi from River Fa;;s, WiI'm 21, and whenever I put this song on from my ipod, I listen to it over and over, it touches me!
• Ekristheh from Halath, United StatesReddy's "Ruby Red Dress (Leave Me Alone)" which has a similar theme was released in June 1973 and was still receiving a fair amount of airplay when this came out in November. Reddy seems to have been interested in legends of abandoned women. Anais Nin wrote of one that she actually met in Paris near the Seine River in the 1930s. The woman explained that she always sat on the same bench because her man had said "Wait here, I'll come back." Nin asked a police officer, who said the woman had been waiting there for thirty years.
• Ray from Laughlin, NvDelta Dawn was written by Alex Harvey and Larry Collins. They received a Grammy nomination for it. Larry Collins was half of the duo "The Collins Kids" with his sister Lorrie in the 1950's. It was a great rockabilly act and they recorded for Columbia.
• Jim from Columbia, TnSong was written by Alex Harvey, not David Allen Coe. Written in early 70's.
• Jean from Moorestown, Nc"Country Standard Time" site says Larry Collins wrote "Delta Dawn" and it was probably before Tanya Tucker was born.
• Jean from Moorestown, NcDoes anyone know who is singing bass on "Delta Dawn"?
• Jim from Oly, WaIf I'm not mistaken and correct me if I'm wrong but David Allen Coe wrote this song and it was originally recorded by Tanya Tucker.

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