Bette Midler

Released: November 7, 1972

Songwriter: Larry Collins Alex Harvey

Producer: Geoffrey Haslam Barry Manilow Ahmet Ertegün

She was forty-one and her daddy still called her baby
Everyone in Brownsville thinks she's crazy
'cause she walks to the station with a suitcase in her hand
And she's looking for a mysterious dark-haired man

In her younger days they called her Delta Dawn
Prettiest woman you ever laid eyes on
But a man of low degree stood by her side
And he promised he would take her for his bride

Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
Did I hear you say he was meeting you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky?

Delta Dawn, what's that flower you got on?
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
Did I hear you say he was meeting you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky?

Delta Dawn, what's that flower you got on?
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
Did I hear you say he was meeting you right here today?
He's gonna take you to his mansion in the sky

Delta Dawn, oh, what is that flower that you've got on?
Could it be, could it be just a faded rose from one of those days gone by?
Well, did I hear you say
That he was gonna meet you right here, right here today?
He's gonna take you to his mansion in the sky
To take you to his mansion in the sky

He's gonna take you, he's gonna take you
Oh, he's gonna take you and you and you and you
Oh, gonna take you, take you to that mansion
He's got to, gonna take you to that mansion
He's gonna take you and you and you and you
Oh, you and you and you
Take you to his mansion in the sky

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
Gonna take you. Oh, oh
He's gonna take you, gonna take you
He's gonna, he's gonna take you to that mansion
He's gonna take you and you and you, oh . .

Bette Midler is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, comedienne and actress. Named in honor of Bette Davis, Midler’s career began performing off-broadway until she developed the stage persona The Divine Miss M while singing at the world-famous Continental Baths gay bathhouse. A pre-fame Barry Manilow, the venue’s in-house piano player, produced her Grammy-nominated debut album which scored three US top 40 singles including the Grammy-nominated “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Midler took home the Best New Artist Grammy that year, her first of three career wins.

Throughout the 1970s, Midler found further success with music, Broadway, television and film. The Rose, Midler’s 1979 acting debut, earned her both Oscar and Academy Award nominations, and its namesake song won her a Golden Globe and another Grammy – also giving Midler her first success overseas.

The early 1980s proved less successful for Midler with four under-performing singles and a box office flop with the film Jinxed. However, the second half of the decade would prove far more fruitful with a handful of very successful films including Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune and Beaches, the latter featuring a chart-topping cover of “Wind Beneath My Wings” that won Midler her third Grammy and is considered one of the greatest songs in American film history.

more tracks from the album

The Divine Miss M

From the albums

The Divine Miss M (1972)
Live at Last (1977)

Bette Midler popular songs

Delta DawnBette Midler

Bette Midler

The Divine Miss M