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.
Like A Hurricane
Kathy Mattea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The miles go by and the engine roars
I've come so far tryin' to forget you
So far from that slammin' door
Day dawned bright in the Shenandoah
The sky's a cool clear mountain blue
But in my heart there's a thunder rollin'
Like a hurricane in my heart
You tore my world apart
Like a dark cloud pourin' rain
You blew into my heart like a hurricane
If there's peace down in that valley
I believe that's where I'm bound
But if I thought you could still love me
You know I'd turn this truck around
Like a hurricane in my heart
You tore my world apart
Like a dark cloud pourin' rain
You blew into my heart like a hurricane
Like a dark cloud pourin' rain
You blew into my heart like a hurricane
In this song, Kathy Mattea tells a story of heartbreak and the resulting storm of emotions. She is driving away from someone and somewhere that have caused her pain: "A little bit south of West Virginia /The miles go by and the engine roars/I've come so far trying to forget you/So far from that slammin' door." Despite the beauty of her surroundings in Shenandoah, the metaphorical thunderstorm in her heart is still raging: "But in my heart there's a thunder rollin' /Storm of love that was untrue." Mattea compares her feelings to a hurricane, a strong and destructive natural force that can't be ignored: "Like a hurricane in my heart/You tore my world apart/Like a dark cloud pouring' rain/You blew into my heart like a hurricane."
The lyrics suggest that Mattea is attempting to move on and find peace in the valley, but she also longs for the possibility that her past love could still have feelings for her: "If there's peace down in that valley/I believe that's where I'm bound/But if I thought you could love me/You know I'd turn this truck around." The song ends with the same metaphor of a hurricane blowing into her heart, emphasizing how significant the experience was: "Like a dark cloud pourin' rain/You blew into my heart like a hurricane."
Overall, the song expresses the difficulty of letting go of a past love, even when moving on seems like the best option. The metaphor of a hurricane creates a powerful image of the intensity of emotions that come with heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
A little bit south of West Virginia
I am driving in a southern direction from West Virginia
The miles go by and the engine roars
I am driving for many miles and the sound of the engine is loud
I've come so far tryin' to forget you
I have traveled a long way to distance myself from the memories of you
So far from that slammin' door
I am physically distant from the door that you slammed when you left me
Day dawned bright in the Shenandoah
In Shenandoah, the day started bright and beautiful
The sky's a cool clear mountain blue
The sky is a clear blue color in the mountains
But in my heart there's a thunder rollin'
I have an intense emotional storm happening inside me
Storm of love that was untrue
The emotional storm is caused by the realization that our love was not true
Like a hurricane in my heart
The emotions I am feeling are like a raging hurricane inside of me
You tore my world apart
Your actions and the end of our relationship have destroyed my world
Like a dark cloud pourin' rain
Your actions were like a dark cloud that brought rain and hardship into my life
You blew into my heart like a hurricane
Your entrance into my life was intense and life-changing, like a hurricane
If there's peace down in that valley
I think there may be peace for me in that valley
I believe that's where I'm bound
I have a feeling that I need to go there to find peace
But if I thought you could still love me
If I believed you still had feelings for me
You know I'd turn this truck around
I would change my plans and turn around to try to make amends with you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARK DANIEL SANDERS, PATRICK ALGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind