About The Song
Tanya Tucker was only thirteen years old when she recorded her husky rendition of “Delta Dawn” – yet she proved she’s capable of handling mature subject matter despite being at such a young age.
Singing “Delta Dawn” with distinctive vibrato, country listeners were swiftly drawn to this confident and charismatic youngster. The Seminole, Texas native released the nostalgic ballad in 1972 as her debut single off her album of the same name. Her version instantly ranked No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. It even helped her score her first Grammy nomination in the category of Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
Indeed, “Delta Dawn” turned out to be her golden ticket to country stardom.
Over the next decades, Tucker became one of the few young artists to reach middle age without losing her audience. Throughout her career, Tanya Tucker songs dominated the country radio charts – notching a series of top-10 and top-40 hits.
Written by rockabilly artist Larry Collins and country songwriter Alex Harvey, “Delta Dawn” tells the story of a 41-year-old former Southern belle who wanders the streets of Brownsville, Tennessee, looking for her lost lover.
The song first appeared on Harvey’s eponymous album, released in 1971. Since then, a number of country acts have recorded “Delta Dawn” – this includes Bette Midler, whose soulful rendition at The Tonight Show prompted Nashville-based producer Billy Sherrill to cut the song with Tanya Tucker.
Half a century later, the classic ballad remains to be one of the most essential tracks in Tucker’s setlist. In fact, she credits it as the song that “started everything off for me and has kept me going ever since.”
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Lyrics
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