Songfacts®:

• When Alan Jackson's mom, Ruth Musick "Mama Ruth" Jackson, died aged 86 on January 7, 2017, the country legend wrote this song for her funeral service.
• Mama Ruth died peacefully at her home in Newnan, Georgia. During this song, her son recounts the moment of her passing.
  
  The morning light was soft and low
  The clouds had left an early snow
  A peaceful sound was calling low
  "It's time to go"
  
  Jackson's mom had a strong Christian faith, and he knows she's now in a far better place.
  
  And now she's dancing in the wind
  With her true love again
  Where her heart has always been
• "Where Her Heart Has Always Been" opens with an old recording of Mama Ruth reading from the Bible. One of Jackson's sisters found the recording after the initial mix of the song was complete, and he and his team added it on to complete the track. "That was sweet. Towards the last few years, she had a scratchy voice," the singer-songwriter told Taste Of Country. "But she was just such a sweet woman, a sweet, sweet lady, so we had to have that on here."
• Mama Ruth served as inspiration for several of her son's projects down the years:
  
  Jackson originally created Precious Memories, a collection of traditional gospel songs, as a Mother's Day gift to her with no intention of releasing it to the public.
  
  His 2002 Let It Be Christmas album, which features renditions of traditional Christmas music, was inspired by Mama Ruth's wish to hear her son record some of the holiday's traditional classics.
  
  His 1990 song "Home" (released as a single in 1996) describes his parents' house built around an old tool shed. It was the place where Jackson and his four sisters grew up and Mama Ruth died.
• The song is one of three that Jackson recorded for his Where Have You Gone album inspired by his family. He also included two tunes that he wrote for his daughters' weddings: "You'll Always Be My Baby" and "I Do."