Delta Dawn
It was late when he rode into town, the sun just heading for the edge
of the world. The Indian's motor seemed to shatter the sleepy silence of the little place. He glanced at the sign to one side of the street and pondered its familiarity.
"Welcome To Brownsville."
~I ever ben here before? Probly, I seem t've ben all over the bloody
country.~ He stopped the bike near what had once been a train station and was now a trendy little tourist mall and threw a leg over the seat so he sat sideways.
She's forty-one and her daddy still calls 'er "baby"
All the folks 'round Brownsville say she's crazy
'cause she walks downtown with her suitcase in her hand
Lookin' for a mysterious dark-haired man
He pulled out a cigar and bit the end off thoughtfully as the feeling
of familiarity grew, his hairy face creased in a thoughtful frown.
"Crazy! Crazy! They oughtta put you away!"
He looked up at the taunting words and nearly fell off the bike as he
beheld a ghost. The girl was a beauty, long brown hair, big grey eyes set in a strong but delicate face. She wore a faded floral dress from another time and carried a battered green suitcase.~It can't be. She'd be long gone by now.That was before World War II.~
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
Promised her he'd take her for his bride
He knew why the name of the town was familiar now.
She'd been sixteen, just starting to stretch her wings, when he'd come
in on the train. They'd bumped into one another on the street in front
of the station. It had been love at first sight. He'd wanted to stay so
badly, wanted to do right by her, but he was already wearing the
uniform he'd wear in the war, and her father refused to give his blessing.
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 a-meetin' you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky?
In the end he'd given her the yellow rose, tied with a ribbon he'd
decorated himself, and promised he'd come for her after the war had ended. Only he'd never come. Weapon X had had other ideas.
He wiped one eye furiously and growled to himself softly. This
couldn't be her, even if that was his rose pinned to that dress. Even if it was the dress he'd bought for her with the last of his money.
~Was supposed ta be her weddin' dress.~
But still. Those eyes, that face.
He shook his head and growled again, then got off the bike and walked
toward her, chucking his cigar aside as he did. "Dawn?" he rumbled uncertainly.
She turned warily and he felt his heart catch at the familiar
expression on her face.
Then he felt it drop. It wasn't her. The story the breeze told was a
different one.
"Daddy?" she said cautiously.
She's forty-one and her daddy still calls 'er "baby"
All the folks 'round Brownsville say she's crazy
'cause she walks downtown with her suitcase in her hand
Lookin' for a mysterious dark-haired man
-Artist: Helen Reddy from "Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits": EMI ST 11467
-peak Billboard position # 1 for 1 week in 1973
-Words and Music by Alex Harvey and Larry Collins
It was late when he rode into town, the sun just heading for the edge
of the world. The Indian's motor seemed to shatter the sleepy silence of the little place. He glanced at the sign to one side of the street and pondered its familiarity.
"Welcome To Brownsville."
~I ever ben here before? Probly, I seem t've ben all over the bloody
country.~ He stopped the bike near what had once been a train station and was now a trendy little tourist mall and threw a leg over the seat so he sat sideways.
She's forty-one and her daddy still calls 'er "baby"
All the folks 'round Brownsville say she's crazy
'cause she walks downtown with her suitcase in her hand
Lookin' for a mysterious dark-haired man
He pulled out a cigar and bit the end off thoughtfully as the feeling
of familiarity grew, his hairy face creased in a thoughtful frown.
"Crazy! Crazy! They oughtta put you away!"
He looked up at the taunting words and nearly fell off the bike as he
beheld a ghost. The girl was a beauty, long brown hair, big grey eyes set in a strong but delicate face. She wore a faded floral dress from another time and carried a battered green suitcase.~It can't be. She'd be long gone by now.That was before World War II.~
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
Promised her he'd take her for his bride
He knew why the name of the town was familiar now.
She'd been sixteen, just starting to stretch her wings, when he'd come
in on the train. They'd bumped into one another on the street in front
of the station. It had been love at first sight. He'd wanted to stay so
badly, wanted to do right by her, but he was already wearing the
uniform he'd wear in the war, and her father refused to give his blessing.
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 a-meetin' you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky?
In the end he'd given her the yellow rose, tied with a ribbon he'd
decorated himself, and promised he'd come for her after the war had ended. Only he'd never come. Weapon X had had other ideas.
He wiped one eye furiously and growled to himself softly. This
couldn't be her, even if that was his rose pinned to that dress. Even if it was the dress he'd bought for her with the last of his money.
~Was supposed ta be her weddin' dress.~
But still. Those eyes, that face.
He shook his head and growled again, then got off the bike and walked
toward her, chucking his cigar aside as he did. "Dawn?" he rumbled uncertainly.
She turned warily and he felt his heart catch at the familiar
expression on her face.
Then he felt it drop. It wasn't her. The story the breeze told was a
different one.
"Daddy?" she said cautiously.
She's forty-one and her daddy still calls 'er "baby"
All the folks 'round Brownsville say she's crazy
'cause she walks downtown with her suitcase in her hand
Lookin' for a mysterious dark-haired man
-Artist: Helen Reddy from "Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits": EMI ST 11467
-peak Billboard position # 1 for 1 week in 1973
-Words and Music by Alex Harvey and Larry Collins