Iris, Your mama was obviously a huge influence on your choice of being a professional musician. You fulfilled your mama's dream, and a lot more. It's wonderful that she got to witness your success in the music world.
Was lucky enough to discover her and Nanci Griffith on Austin City Limits together as she toured with Nanci. They had the actual performance of this song at the grand ole opery with the Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band up for a while. Very touching! Her Mom's wonderful story actually made it to the stage.
Today would be my mother's birthday. She had a hard life with a lot of dreams erased when our father died, leaving her with four children under 9 years of age. Love you mom. Thanks for all your sacrifice.
I have had the pure joy and honor of having seen Ms DeMent about ten times in various venues. I simply love her. The purity of her voice, her honesty and great songwriting makes her an American treasure. And her natural beauty! I grew up and lived in Italy but in her songs I could relate to them and have a strong connection. It was not Jimmy Rodgers but Dome I o Modugno but the sense a song like Opry is very real and powerful…. I love you Iris!
Keep the flame of pure country music burning bright. Don't let it die out or be replaced by pop- country. Teach gospel country to your kids. Teach it to your students in school
What a beautiful song, beautifully performed. The version with the nitty-gritty dirt band, and Matrica Berg Matrica Berg on backup vocals is also nice.
Great song! Awesome singer. And this coming from someone who isn’t a country music follower. I discovered her at the end credits of “True Grit”. I was instantly smitten to the voice and am now a big fan.
The Southern tinge to her sound and accent and topics puts her closer to the "country" label for most folk. I've never heard of "Southern Folk" before. Certainly folk is a part of it, but it's not JUST "folk" music.Music labels aren't really black and white, and a lot of classifications apply to multiple sounds (and vice versa). And of course, one singer/instrumentalist can perform songs in ANY genre. It's often hard enough to call any particular song one genre vs another, but it's even harder to call a singer "country" or "folk". Some of her songs might be more country, some might be more folk. Some might be gospel.
I have this song on an old cassette tape but didn't know who sang it. I love the song and now I know who to praise for it. What a voice. I love her duet with John Prine too.
This song happened to come on just as our son called me bout the birth of our first grandchild who is named "Florence" after my mother who died 16 years ago. My mother loved folk music and left that legacy for me. Congratulations, Carlos. God bless you baby Florence, and thank you Iris , for all your great songs that strike home with me.
Agree with most of the previous comments that Iris is the real deal. Unlike 'greycat2n1' I would feel privileged to wake up next to this beautiful voice and beautiful woman every morning.
This song allegedly made John Prine cry as detailed in the linear notes of her debut album. John mentored Iris. And they were friends. Did several duets together.
Actually, yes, she wrote the song, which is an appropriation of lyrics from those old gospel songs. Beautifully done, even to an old agnostic like me. She's talking here about her mother, and her mother's desire to sing in the Grand Ol Opry, and about the nature of her love for her mother and her mother's hopes and religious sensibilities. It doesn't matter if one believes or not to see the beauty of Iris' work here and elsewhere, or have the most human understanding of her love.
A long time fan . she was so young and very pretty with cute dimples. My all-time fav. by her is Our Town from that Alaska tv series.Just a downhome fantastic ,talented entertainer.
I discovered the beauty of this lady's voice first when she sang the title song from True Grit, "Leaning on the everlasting arms". She has such humor in her music, she is a real original, artist with abundant talent. I grew up appreciating all kinds of music but the pure clear voice of Iris Dement and the stories she tells with her original music is priceless. I thought I had heard that voice before and did some research on her. At times she has such a haunting quality of Appalachia in her song "Pretty Saro" in the movie "Song Catcher", she also sang her song and had a role in that movie.
I first heard Iris DeMemt on Garrison Keller's "Prairie Home Companion," which has been airing every Saturday for thirty years. I found her album of gospel music called "Lifeline." All the songs are uplifting.
Iris I saw you perform the song 'Momas Opery' live at McCabe's Guitar Shop In Santa Monica in about 1994-5 and bought your CD as soon as it came out. You would definitely have been a complement to 'the Carter Family". When I got the CD there was a duet with your mother on the song that definitely went to 'Higher Ground' Thank you eternally. David
I think the song is a lot more nuanced than people give it credit for. Her mother's dream was to be a star and sing at the Grand Ole Opry, but the revelation in the song is that singing with your family was the "Grandest Opry". Likewise, the fatalism of the gospel songs they used to sing, which don't "want to get adjusted to the world below" and are waiting for heavenly reward seem to miss that what they hold dear is already around them.
That doesn't seem that "nuanced" to me. I thought that was just what the song was about. I mean if you never listened to the lyrics and just sang along to the chorus, I guess you'd assume it was just about singing old Gospel tunes, but if you actually listen to the lyrics, I don't see how else you could interpret it. She said what she said.
I can assure you, after a concert with her, you are right! Never experienced such a total silence in the intermissions before. Out of the sincerity that we all felt. By the way, her voice is even better live!;=)
The first time I heard this woman's music I was thrilled, and it has never stopped. I believe I first heard her on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Bands, Will The Circle Be Unbroken # 2 ?
Thanks, wickenden, for your positive comments. As far as " Leaning on the Everllasting Arms" being used in the soundtrack of True Grit, the movie makers chose the song because she did the song way before the movie was made. Some of the phrases at the end of this are titles to songs, which she credits on the CD. We each can choose what we like (or not) and listen to (or not). Her voice andl syle are different , but I don't want to listen to clones.
This is the stuff you just don't hear on country stations any more. No-one dares even mention religion, except as little tossouts once in a while so they can claim "Christian" as part of their image. And the sound just doesn't sound like country music at all. I thought it was bad 10 years ago, when it was more like pop music with some steel guitar and fiddle added in, but the other day I tuned to our regional country station for the first time in years. I started listening to the first couple songs, and I thought "huh, I didn't know 107.1 had changed into a contemporary/pop station. When did that happen?" Then they finally played a song that sounded like a country song, with guys singing about how great it is to get drunk at the bar, mostly. I couldn't believe it. Surely that first stuff isn't what they call "country" music today, is it? Country music can't be mistaken for EDM in placed. It doesn't have a driving dance-hall beat and synthesizers playing loops. It doesn''t use auto-tuned vocals, and the singers don't rap. Or so I thought. My mistake. I never even liked country music when I was younger, but now that I finally start getting interested in it, I find that it's in serious danger of dying off, at least as far as the big names go. Sad. Maybe that's what people in the "country" listen to these days (I doubt it), but that doesn't make it country music. It's an inferior copy of urban music. And of course ANY song these days that speaks more than slightly about religion is tossed to the side as "Christian music", and doesn't count as a 'real song" any more. Certainly won't get any play on air, except on "Christian music' stations. I'm not even religious and this irritates me.
What a stupid comment. They're both outstanding. It's a sign of a cultured listener to be able to enjoy a variety of artists and appreciate their uniqueness. Try to develop a bit of culture.
