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.
Down So Low
Tracy Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cried for so long
And I wanted you to stay
Ah but that was all wrong
The pain you left behind
Has become part of me
And it's burned out a hole
But it's not losing you
That's got me down so low
I just can't find another man
To take your place
Well you know I love you
But that wasn't enough
We both fell apart
When things got too tough
And I've learned how to give now
But what good
But what good would that do
No one can touch me
The way you used to do
And it's not losing you
That's got me down so low
I just can't find another man
To take your place
Well I know your opinion
Of me is not good
Please try to understand
That I'd change
Well I'd change if I could
And this coldness inside me
Well it's starting to build
And a woman can't be a woman
Unless she's fulfilled
But it's not losing you
That's got me down so low
I just can't find another man
To take your place
There's no one can
replace you
And that's the hardest part
I'm trying to move on
But it's breaking my heart
Tracy Nelson's song "Down So Low" is a ballad about heartbreak and the difficulty of moving on from a lost love. The lyrics describe the pain of a failed relationship and the struggle to fill the void left behind. While the singer acknowledges her own shortcomings and the mistakes made in the relationship, she also recognizes that losing the one she loved has left her feeling directionless and unable to move forward.
The first verse highlights the singer's initial reaction to the break-up: crying and wanting the other person to stay. However, as the song progresses, it becomes clear that the pain and emptiness left behind runs deeper. The second verse addresses the fact that love alone was not enough to sustain the relationship, and that both parties contributed to its demise. The singer expresses a desire to change and grow, but feels trapped by her own feelings of loss and inadequacy.
The chorus repeats the refrain that losing the other person is not what's causing the singer's current state but rather her inability to find another person to fill the void. This sense of hopelessness and desperation is particularly poignant in the final lines, where the singer laments that "There's no one can replace you/And that's the hardest part/I'm trying to move on/But it's breaking my heart."
Line by Line Meaning
When you went away I cried
I shed tears when you left me
Cried for so long
I cried for a prolonged period of time
And I wanted you to stay
I wished you hadn't left me
Ah but that was all wrong
But now I realize that was not for the best
The pain you left behind
The heartache you caused
Has become part of me
Has become a permanent part of my emotional state
And it's burned out a hole
It has left a deep emotional void
Where my love used to be
Where I used to feel love, now there's emptiness
But it's not losing you
But it's not the fact of losing you
That's got me down so low
That's causing my emotional distress
I just can't find another man
I'm unable to find another man
To take your place
To replace you in my heart
Well you know I love you
You're aware of my love for you
But that wasn't enough
But unfortunately that wasn't adequate
We both fell apart
Our relationship disintegrated
When things got too tough
When our problems became too difficult to handle
And I've learned how to give now
I've learned how to give in a relationship
But what good
But what's the use
But what good would that do
But it won't help the current situation
No one can touch me
No one can reach me emotionally
The way you used to do
The way you used to emotionally connect with me
And it's not losing you
And it's not the fact of losing you
That's got me down so low
That's causing my emotional distress
I just can't find another man
I'm unable to find another man
To take your place
To replace you in my heart
Well I know your opinion
I'm aware of your opinion
Of me is not good
You don't think highly of me
Please try to understand
Please try to comprehend
That I'd change
That I would change
Well I'd change if I could
If I had the ability, I would change
And this coldness inside me
And this emotional distance within me
Well it's starting to build
Is getting stronger
And a woman can't be a woman
And a woman cannot fulfill her true potential
Unless she's fulfilled
Unless she feels emotionally satisfied
But it's not losing you
But it's not the fact of losing you
That's got me down so low
That's causing my emotional distress
I just can't find another man
I'm unable to find another man
To take your place
To replace you in my heart
There's no one can
There's no one who can
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: TRACY NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
C katz
My favorite vocalist of all time. I have all of her albums and CDs and have seen her perform twice. She never disappoints and should have been as big a star as Janis or other strong vocalists.
Chris Stanton
I absolutely agree as good as Aretha or janis and no one knows who she is. Mismanaged by her record label.
cattycorner
I was always a fan of Mother Earth in college, then when I moved to Nashville in the early 1980's I got a job as a waitress at the (now closed) Gold Rush on Elliston Place. She was friends with our head chef, Rachel Lawson and used to come in all the time. Talk about thrilled!!! Lots of stars came to the Gold Rush, but for me she was the brightest of all.
Susanna Karam
I, too, have seen her perform twice. The second time was a a small club in Berkeley, CA., with Eartha Kitt.
On the break she was sitting in the lobby, so I went over and gushed about what a big fan I was. She invited me to sit with her, and, I told her the 1st time I saw her was at the Berkeley Community Theater opening for Boz Scaggs. She replied that I couldn't possibly be old enough to have seen that show, I told her I was there on a date with a much younger guy, so please don't blow my cover-we had a good laugh. She is such a real, down to Earth person, and amazing singer and musician.
jwellsgnr
What an extraordinary performance! Voice of an angel, but with unbelievable power and depth.
Matthew Bond
Tracy Nelson has the voice of a god, not merely an angel.
Arthur Shatz
Good lord, what a voice! It's a shame that Mother Earth never got the exposure back in the day. Tracy would have been up there with Janis.
Alley Oop
She is miles past Janis for my money.
Wendy S. King
Thank you, Tracey. I used to sing your songs in a bar in Japan. When I was 25. Especially, this one. They loved it! Im not anywhere as accomplished as you, but you gave me a beautiful bar to reach for and to share with others. We all thank you.
Gloria Lee Young
Mother Earth was one of my favorite groups in 1968. They really touched my heart. Amazing and so very real!