Isn’t it interesting to hear songs now that you once sang out loud as a child? Does it ever make you cringe that you sang it, not knowing what the lyrics meant?
So many songs from all those years ago I can still remember the lyrics to. One of my favorite radio stations is the 80’s one. (It makes Cooter crazy, which gets quite comical at times.) When I hear one of the songs from way back when, and the lyrics all come flooding back without me even thinking, it amazes me. And sometimes is a little embarrassing.
And then there are the times one comes along and gets stuck. In my head. All day long. I think they call them earworms now, but back then, we’d just walk around complaining, “I have a song STUCK IN MY HEAD, and I can’t get it out.”
I don’t know how old I was when Daddy came up with the solution, but it seems like it’s been a part of our story for as long as I can remember.
“Sing Delta Dawn. It will break up that song stuck in your head.”
And he was right.
Tonight I was thinking about that, and trying to remember who sang it originally. After realizing it was not Helen Reddy, I remembered it was a very, very young Tanya Tucker. I finally decided to look it up, and the cool thing is they both sang it. (My memory is a little better than I thought, which is very encouraging after the week I’ve had.) Tanya Tucker had a top ten country hit with it in 1972, and then Helen Reddy had a #1 hit with it in 1973. And here’s what I found out that I had never known–Bette Midler also recorded it, and she planned to release it, but Helen Reddy’s version came out two days earlier.
Wow.
Bette Midler? Delta Dawn?
Fascinating, but the truth is I couldn’t get through a whole stanza of her version. VERY different, and just not the Delta Dawn I grew up with.
Except now I’m afraid the little bit I listened to of her version is my newest ear worm.
“Daddy, what happens if I sing ‘Delta Dawn’ and get rid of the song stuck in my head, but then Delta Dawn gets stuck in there?”
I don’t remember his exact answer, but I think it had something to do with it being a good song, so it would be okay, or it would eventually fade or something like that.
And so now, I guess I’ll do just that. Go to sleep with a very slow version of ‘Delta Dawn’ in my head. Unless Tanya and Helen can help me out.
What do you do to get rid of your earworms?
Tonight I’m thankful for this memory of my Daddy that made me smile. I wonder what he’d think of Bette Midler’s version, but I’m pretty sure I already know.
May we all have a day of only the really good songs getting stuck…..
Love to all.
Click here for the link to the YouTube video of Helen Reddy’s version
Here for Tanya Tucker’s version
and finally, here for the Bette Midler one
I Might Need A Nap 