Delta Dawn

"Delta Dawn" is a song written by musician Larry Collins and country songwriter Alex Harvey. The first notable recording of the song was in 1971 by American singer and actress Bette Midler for her debut album. However it is best known as a 1972 top ten country hit for Tanya Tucker and a 1973 US number one hit for Helen Reddy. Though the song is attributed exclusively to Collins and Harvey, the melody of the chorus is in fact virtually identical to the Christian hymn Amazing Grace. For that reason, Tucker often performs the two together. Content The title character is a faded former Southern belle from Brownsville, Tennessee, who, at 41, is obsessed to unreason with the long-ago memory of a suitor who jilted her. The lyrics describe how the woman regularly "walks downtown with a suitcase in her hand / looking for a mysterious dark haired man" who she says will be taking her "to his mansion in the sky." Reddy's recording in particular includes choir-like inspirational overtones.