Delta Dawn is a story about a modern day Mary Magdeline. "Delta Dawn" (Is what a young girl called herself when she was very young.) "What's that flower you have on" (It means, what she is carrying. An unborn child, a son. She will give birth to the Christ child, but nobody knows it, not even her.) "Could it be a "Faded Rose" from days gone by".. (It's symbolic for rebirth of that christ child. An old story with a new beginning. The story faded, but is renewed at a later time.) "And did I hear ya say, he was a meetin' you here today, to take you to his mansion in the sky"... (She speaks of having an unnatural knowledge of things to come. Meeting up with an old flame. A new vision of an old memory. And he will take her to heaven.) "She's forty-one and her daddy still calls 'er "baby" Her father still treats her like a child, even though she is grown. "All the folks round brownsville say she's crazy." (And all the people in her town say she is out of her mind because she talks about things that they don't understand. But she isn't, she is a visionary.) " Cuz she walks downtown with a suitcase in her hand." (She's never in one place for long and people know this about her. She's a sort of gypsy.) "Lookin for a mysterious dark haired man"... (Someone that she remembers from long time ago in a faint memory. Who promised her once that he would return for her when the time was right.) "In her younger days they called her Delta Dawn" When she was young everyone called her an unruly child. She was a charmer and a dreamer. She had her head in the clouds instead of books. "Then a man of low degree stood by her side. Promised her he'd take her for his bride." (She met the wrong man instead, who wanted to harm her. And they married.) Delta Dawn is a vision of the below statement. "There is to be born a second chance for a son of God. A new beginning. The vision has a reality to hold within your heart. For only believers."

I'm going to have to ask as well, where did you get your sources for that answer (A Tiny Dancer)? I think it really is about what Gideon said, a girl who got taken by a drifter. What you said was interesting, but not really associated with Mary, and certainly not in a biblical sense. The only questionable lyric is to meet him in a mansion in the sky. I think her lover died and she can't wait until its her time to meet him. If a person today talked like that we probably would consider them crazy if they anticipated death like that. My humble opinion to yours.

According to wikipedia, The song is about a woman from Brownsville, Tennessee who earned the nickname "Delta Dawn" in her youth for her unmatched beauty and grace. After being dumped by a deceptive suitor, she lost her splendor and became mentally ill, and now spends her days waiting for the return of her lost love. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Dawn I would have said that anyway. It is fairly obvious that this 41 yo lady is locked by a nervous breakdown into a time warp, where she is still the pretty young thing seduced by a heartless man, who left her. CHORUS 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-eye? 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 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

Oh yeah I need to point out another huge point. Mary Magdalene was not the mother of Christ...

Listen carefully to those who replied to TinyDancers response: The question was not really what does it actually mean to the person who wrote that song. The question was "What does the song mean to anyone?" That can be taken differently. Every song on this planet means something different to everyone. For example. The "star spangled banner" would mean something different to a veteran than it would to a Jehovas Witness, or a mother who lost her child in a war she didn't believe in or support. So, Mary Magdeline was not Christs mother. Two different Marys, both found favor with God. One was a sinner, one a virtual saint. Maybe we are all a little bit of everything all rolled into one. Oh, incidently, Delta means "sleep." or could mean a temporary "coma-like" slumber.

"Could it be a faded Rose from days gone by." According to Dante The rose is the queen of flowers, which was evidently a privileged symbol for Mary, Queen of heaven and earth. The rose is a symbol of Christ, too, as we see in the German Christmas song from a poem by Goethe, Es Ist ein' Ros' Entsprungen. How about the song "Mary had a little lamb?" LOL. Or "The Rose" sung by Bette Midler? Bottom line is this: There are no "right" and "wrong" answers to the origional question which was asked.

nice question. For me, faded rose is pink

It was about a girl from Brownsville Texas who was going to marry her boyfriend when he got back to port he was a shrimper from port Isabel Texas ans she waited around the causeway for him but he never came cause his boat had sank in a storm.