In her teens, Nelson sang folk music in coffeehouses and with The Fuller's Wood Singers group, and was lead singer in The Fabulous Imitations band.
In 1966, Nelson moved to San Francisco where she became part of the SF music scene . The band she fronted, Mother Earth, played the Fillmore Auditorium, sharing bills with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix. It was during this period that Nelson wrote and first recorded her signature song "Down So Low" (released on the Mother Earth album "Living with the Animals") that was later covered by a number of artists including Linda Ronstadt, and Etta James. Nelson re-recorded "Down So Low" herself several times.
In the late 1960s, Nelson relocated to Nashville, where she and Mother Earth recorded the album Make A Joyful Noise and the solo effort Tracy Nelson Country. In 1974, her duet with Willie Nelson, "After the Fire is Gone," was nominated for a Grammy Award.
After a lengthy hiatus from recording in the 1980s, Nelson released several albums on the independent Rounder Records label in the 1990s. Her 1998 "Sing It!" collaboration with label-mates Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas (as Marcia Ball, Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson) garnered a second Grammy nomination.
Since the early 2000s, Nelson has recorded for various independent record labels. Other projects include a collaboration with blues-rock veterans Nick Gravenites, Harvey Mandel, Corky Siegel and Sam Lay (as the Chicago Blues Reunion), with Angela Strehli, Annie Sampson, and Dorothy Morrison (as the Blues Broads), and performed intermittently with Missouri band the Bel Airs and with Chicago-based Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues.
Growing up in the early 1960s, Nelson immersed herself in R&B, and later what she calls "the folk scare of the sixties." As an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin, she combined her musical passions singing folk and blues at coffeehouses and R&B at frat parties. In 1964 she went to Chicago to record her first album, Deep Are The Roots. A young harmonica player from Memphis named Charlie Musselwhite played on the album and the two would explore the city's famed south side where she met and was inspired by such legendary figures as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Spann and others. A short time later, Nelson moved to San Francisco and, in the midst of the era's psychedelic explosion, formed Mother Earth. After six Mother Earth albums for Mercury Records and Reprise Records, Nelson continued to record as a solo artist on various labels.
After The Fire Is Gone
Tracy Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And there's nothing cold as ashes after the fire is gone
The bottle is almost empty the clock just now struck ten
Darling I had to call you to our favorite place again
We know it's wrong for us to meet but the fire's gone out at home
And there's nothing cold as ashes after the fire is gone
Love is where you find it
Your lips are warm and tender your arms hold me just right
Sweet words of love you remember that the one at home forgot
Each time we say it's last time but we keep hanging on
And there's nothing cold as ashes after the fire is gone
The song "After The Fire Is Gone" by Tracy Nelson is a duet with Duane Allman, first performed by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty in 1971. The song is about a couple who are no longer feeling the warmth of love at home and find themselves turning to each other for comfort. The lyrics suggest that love can be found in unexpected places and times, as well as the fact that the emptiness and coldness experienced after a relationship ends are some of the worst feelings in the world.
In the first stanza, we see that the singer has been neglecting their significant other, leading to a lack of love at home. They’re able to find comfort in someone else, but both parties are aware that this is not the right thing to do. The second stanza explores how the new partner is treating them better than their partner at home has been. This shows that they have a clear awareness of what they’re giving up. Even though they know they should end things, they continue to hold onto the relationship despite knowing that it’s wrong.
It’s a bittersweet song about infidelity and the desire to find love in unexpected places. The lyrics suggest that when you find love outside of your relationship, it may not be ideal but it can also be difficult to let go. The song highlights the emotional turmoil that comes with making a decision that is seen as wrong and the consequences of that decision.
Line by Line Meaning
Love is where you find it when you find no love at home
Love can be found in unexpected places, especially when there is no love in your own home.
And there's nothing cold as ashes after the fire is gone
When a passionate relationship ends, it leaves behind only cold emptiness.
The bottle is almost empty the clock just now struck ten
The singer has been drinking and it's getting late at night.
Darling I had to call you to our favorite place again
Even though they know it's wrong, the artist is drawn to this person and had to see them.
We know it's wrong for us to meet but the fire's gone out at home
Both parties understand that their actions are wrong, but they are seeking something they cannot find at home.
Your lips are warm and tender your arms hold me just right
The singer is happy and content in the arms of their illicit partner.
Sweet words of love you remember that the one at home forgot
The singer is getting the affection and attention they crave from their partner that they aren't getting at home.
Each time we say it's last time but we keep hanging on
Both parties know they shouldn't keep seeing each other, but they can't help themselves and keep coming back.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: L WHITE, L E WHITE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@darrowlinn7407
I think this is the best that anyone recorded this song.
@chrisstanton1969
Willie was lucky that he got to sing with one of the Greatest Singers Of The 20th Century. Tracy is like a Country Blues opera singer.
@larryc3860
even back then, Willie and Tracy made us remember what REAL country music sounds like.....
@johnnoneya5758
Tracey Nelson sounds great when this video was made, may GOD bless both great country singers..
@larryc3860
amen from another Texan
@richiejohnson
Her library is vast and wonderful!!!
@jod6cindy
Big, round notes from Tracy, and what a mighty vibrato.
@t4texastom587
R. I. P.
Sweet Bobbie
Paul English
Jody Payne 🎸
Bee Speers
Jimmy Day
@peterhaley2836
Full Nelson, Tracey and Willie doing it!!!
@craigallen5963
Wow! She has such a great, strong voice!!