Talk:Delta Dawn

A fact from Delta Dawn appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 21 April 2005. The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that the song "Delta Dawn" was first sung by Tanya Tucker and turned down by Barbra Streisand before gaining widespread pop success by Helen Reddy?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2005/April.

Wikipedia

Religion[edit]

I had never thought of the religious angle before, but it actually makes some sense. Expecting to be taken to a "mansion in the sky" - well, either Delta Dawn is actually crazy, as all the folks round Brownsville say, or else it does seem she is expecting to be taken somewhere spiritual - that the man she is waiting for is not just any man.

The similarity between Delta Dawn, the bride, looking for the return, any day, of a mysterious, dark-haired man, to take her to his mansion in the sky, on the one hand, and the Church, the Bride, looking for the return, any day, of Jesus Christ, to take Her to His mansion in the sky, on the other hand, seems inescapable.107.185.97.165 (talk) 04:56, 14 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The "man of low degree" certainly does not rule out Jesus. Jesus was indeed a man of low degree. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.20.236.79 (talk) 03:29, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Anyway, catchy tune - turns into an earworm every time I hear it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.20.236.79 (talk) 03:30, 27 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Whoever wrote that this song is about Jesus either didn't listen very carefully to the lyrics or has a very low opinion of Him:

Then a man of low degree stood by her side And promised her he'd take her for his bride

There's also no lyric in the song whatsoever that even implies Delta Dawn is in fact dead, or dies.209.169.114.213 16:48, 31 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know the Helen Reddy version, but the Tanya Tucker version includes the line, "And did I hear you say / He was a-meetin' you here today / To take you to his mansion in the sky?" While I'm not arguing with your other point about the lyrics, this line does imply a religious allusion as well as a reference to death. I do not recall the words "a man of low degree" in the TT version, though I may have missed them when I listened to the song heavily as a child. Lawikitejana 00:28, 14 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

L, lyrics are open to individual subjective interpretaion of course, writers even prefer it. And seeing in the following point down there that the melody is a rip off of "Amazing Graze", it's gonna be even harder to propose this, but I think in this context, "mansion in the sky" alludes to a notion such as "pie in the sky." Now that even STILL might be taken spiritually, but I myself think the context is supposed to be illusory.Hanz ofbyotch (talk) 01:05, 12 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Amazing Grace[edit]

Since this is original research, I didn't add it to the article, but Alex Harvey, who co-wrote the song, told me that the melody is simply a rip-off of "Amazing Grace." Once he said it, I couldn't believe I hadn't heard it for myself. Rich 06:54, 17 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't say the "melody" is a "rip-off" of Amazing Grace. However, the chord structure and modulations are quite similar. I dare say Alec Harvey said this to you, as Amazing Grace is in 3/4 and and Delta Dawn is in 4/4. Amazing Grace uses only a 4 note melody (at the octave) while Delta Dawn utilizes the 6th, not found in Amazing Grace. "Rip Off" would not be the correct term to define the creation. Furthermore, there are no reliable sources to back the claim in interviews by the co-author of the song to include such content; even though I too agree that the chord patterns are similar and both "melodies" lay over one another perfectly at the chorus. Maineartists (talk) 04:42, 3 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

New infobox?[edit]

Why did InnocuousPseudonym add {{newinfobox|type=singles}} to the top of the article? Currently, no infobox template for music singles is listed. Is anyone working on creating such a template? If not, why make the article ugly by adding the meaningless newinfobox template? —Quicksilver^{T @} 15:50, 20 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The {{newinfobox}} template should go on the talk page, so I've moved it here. Wikipedia:List of infoboxes/Arts & Entertainment#Musical recordings was very out-of-date, but I've now updated that page to note that there is an infobox for singles: {{Infobox Single}}. --PEJL 18:07, 22 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Reddy vs. Midler[edit]

Regarding "The June 1973 single release of Reddy's version was two days before Midler's, necessitating the amendment of the latter's single so that the original B-side 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' was shopped to radio, becoming a Top Ten hit." Request clarification. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" debuted at #85 on the Hot 100 on 12 May 1973, six weeks before "Delta Dawn" debuted at #86 on 23 June 1973.98.151.174.67 (talk) 05:59, 12 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Helen Reddy[edit]

Would someone please simply upload a proper image for Helen Reddy's infobox that shows Delta Dawn as the single? It makes absolutely no sense to have Side B represent this article. You can find the original 45 or even the Album art on the web. Thanks. I'd do it myself but I'm not familiar with all the protocol and hoops WP makes you jump through to get an image uploaded these days. Maineartists (talk) 13:12, 20 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]