Kathy Mattea (born Kathleen Alice Mattea on 21 June 1959) is an American co… Read Full Bio ↴Kathy Mattea (born Kathleen Alice Mattea on 21 June 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reached No. 1 ("Goin' Gone", "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses", "Come from the Heart", and "Burnin' Old Memories") plus 12 more that charted within the top ten. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner: in 1990 for "Where've You Been", and in 1993 for her Christmas album "Good News".

Mattea was born in South Charleston, West Virginia, because it had the nearest hospital to her parents' home in Cross Lanes, where she grew up, graduating from nearby Nitro High School. In 1976, while in college, she joined the bluegrass band Pennsboro, and two years later dropped out of school to move to Nashville. She worked as a tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame, did backup vocal work for Bobby Goldsboro , and sang demos for several Nashville songwriters and publishers including Nashville songwriter/producer Byron Hill, who brought her to the attention of Frank Jones (then head of Mercury Records), who signed her to her first record deal in 1983.
Mattea's third album, 1986's folky Walk the Way the Wind Blows, proved to be her breakthrough both critically and commercially. Her cover of Nanci Griffith's "Love at the Five and Dime" was her first major hit, reaching #3 (and in addition, earned Griffith notice as a songwriter); and the album produced three other top ten songs: "Walk the Way the Wind Blows" (#10), "You're the Power (#5), and "Train of Memories" (#6).
Further hit songs include her first #1, "Goin' Gone"; the truck-driving song "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" (1988); "Come From the Heart" and "Burnin' Old Memories" (both #1 hits in 1989); "She Came From Fort Worth" (1990); "Lonesome Standard Time" (1992); "Walking Away a Winner" (1994); "Nobody's Gonna Rain on Our Parade" (1994); "Maybe She's Human" (1994); and "455 Rocket" (1997). "Eighteen Wheels," in late May 1988, became the first single by a solo female to spend multiple weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard country singles chart since Dolly Parton's "You're the Only One" in August 1979; both singles were on top of that chart for two weeks.
The heart-wrenching "Where've You Been," which Mattea's husband Jon Vezner co-wrote with singer/songwriter Don Henry, reached #2 on the country chart and won her a 1990 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal. Mattea is a repeat winner of the County Music Associations Female Vocalist of the Year, which she won on the success of "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" and "Where've You Been."
The following year, Mattea took part in Voices That Care, a multi-artist project that featured other top names in music for a one-off single to raise money for the allied troops in the Gulf War. The project included fellow country singers Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and Randy Travis. She has also been heavily involved in HIV/AIDS-related charities beginning in the early 1990s, and is often credited with leading the country music community, commonly regarded as the last segment of the entertainment industry to address the AIDS epidemic, to finally do so. She performed with Mary Chapin Carpenter on VH1's very first Save The Music concert, which also starred Bette Midler.
Mattea won another Grammy in 1993 for her gospel-oriented Christmas album Good News. Her first single from the album, "Mary, Did You Know?" went on to be covered by Kenny Rogers with Wynonna, as well as Reba McEntire.
Mattea subsequently moved to MCA and, in 2000, released the ballad-heavy The Innocent Years, a heartfelt tribute to her ailing father. Wanting to explore her taste for Celtic folk, Mattea hopped labels to Narada, for whom she debuted in 2002 with the eclectic Roses.
With her social activism and her taste for songs with introspective lyrics, it has been often said that Mattea owes as much to the traditions of folk music as mainstream country.
Though her recent work has failed to make the country charts, Mattea continued to enjoy a strong following throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s; her albums are critically well received, and she continues to tour and perform. She continues to have strong support from a very active fan club, run by Sue Phelps, whose members refer to themselves as Matteaheads.
Kathy travelled the country presenting Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and speaking to crowds about the importance to fight global warming.
Before leaving Narada she released another album full of differing influences, Right Out Of Nowhere, including a cover of a Stones tune.
Her CD "Coal" released on her own label is a collection of songs about mining and received a nomination for a Grammy. She continues to tour across the US and in early 2008 she made a welcome return to the UK.

In 2018, Mattea announced a new album, Pretty Bird, which was released independently with Tim O'Brien serving as producer.

Angels We Have Heard on High
Kathy Mattea Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Angels we have on heard high
Sweetly singing ore the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains

Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo

Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ whose birth the angels sing
Come adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord the newborn King

Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo

See him in a manger laid
Whom the choirs of angels praise
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid
While our hearts in love we raise

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo

Overall Meaning

In Kathy Mattea's "Angels We Have Heard On High," the song celebrates the birth of Jesus as the angels sing joyous strains over the plains and mountains. The song invites listeners to come to Bethlehem and witness the birth of Christ, the Lord and newborn king, and adore him on bended knees. The choirs of angels praise and sing about the birth of Christ, and Mary and Joseph lend their hands while the hearts of the listeners raise in love. The chorus repeats, singing "Gloria in excelsis Deo," which is Latin for "Glory to God in the highest."

These lyrics are rich with religious and spiritual meanings, praising the Lord and celebrating the birth of Christ as the savior. The song forms part of the Christmas hymns, and it is a favorite for many around the world. It reflects the joy and wonder that comes with the holiday season and the unique opportunities to share this festival with families, friends and fellow believers.

Line by Line Meaning

Angels we have on heard high
We have heard angels singing and celebrating high in the sky

Sweetly singing ore the plains
Their singing is sweet, and it echoes over the flat lands

And the mountains in reply
The mountains respond to the angels' joyous singing

Echoing their joyous strains
The mountains are echoing the same joyful singing as the angels

Gloria in excelsis Deo
Glory to God in the highest

Come to Bethlehem and see
Come to Bethlehem and witness the birth of Christ

Christ whose birth the angels sing
The angels are celebrating the birth of Christ

Come adore on bended knee
Come and worship the newborn King while kneeling

Christ the Lord the newborn King
Christ is the Lord, the new ruler who has just been born

See him in a manger laid
See Jesus lying in a manger

Whom the choirs of angels praise
Jesus is being celebrated by the angel choirs