DeMent was born in Paragould, Arkansas, the 14th and youngest child of Pat DeMent (1910–1992) and wife Flora Mae (1918–2011). Iris's mother had harbored dreams of going to Nashville and starting a singing career. Although she put those plans on hold to get married, her singing voice was an inspiration and influence for her youngest daughter Iris. DeMent was raised in a Pentecostal household. Her family moved from Arkansas to the Los Angeles area when she was three. While growing up, she was exposed to and influenced by country and gospel music. Singing at age five as one of "the little DeMent sisters", Iris had a bad experience when she forgot her words during her first performance, which caused her to avoid performing in public for some time.
DeMent was inspired to write her first song, "Our Town," by a drive through a boarded-up Midwest town at the age of 25. The song lyrics came to her "exactly as it is now," without need for re-writing, and she realized then that songwriting was her calling. "Our Town" was played during the closing scene for the final episode (July 26, 1995) of CBS's television series Northern Exposure. The song has been recorded by Kate Rusby, Kate Brislin & Jody Stecher and Trampled by Turtles.
Her first album, Infamous Angel, was released in 1992 on the Rounder-Philo label and explored such themes as religious skepticism, small-town life, and human frailty. "Let the Mystery Be" has been covered by a number of artists, including 10,000 Maniacs and Alice Stuart, and was used in the opening scenes of the film Little Buddha. In the fall of 2015, a version of "Let the Mystery Be" from the Transatlantic Sessions became the musical theme for the opening credits of the HBO series The Leftovers, replacing the original "Main Title Theme" composed by Max Richter, and it would once again serve as the opening theme for the series finale.
In her second album, My Life, released in 1994, she continued the personal and introspective approach. The record is dedicated to her father, who died two years earlier. My Life was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category.
DeMent's third album, The Way I Should, was released in 1996. Featuring the protest song "Wasteland of the Free", it is DeMent's most political work. It covers topics such as sexual abuse, religion, government policy, and Vietnam.
DeMent sang the duet "Bell Bottomed Tear" as part of The Beautiful South's Much Later with Jools live special in 1997.
In 1998, the song "Iris" by the rock band Goo Goo Dolls was named after her. Singer and songwriter John Rzeznik had already written the lyrics to the song but was having a problem naming it. He opened up the LA Weekly and noticed that DeMent was playing in town and thought her name was beautiful and then decided to name it after her.
She sang four duets with John Prine on his 1999 album In Spite of Ourselves, including the title track. She appeared in the 2000 film Songcatcher, playing the character Rose Gentry and singing on the soundtrack as well. Her duet with Ralph Stanley on "Ridin' That Midnight Train" was the opening track on his 2001 album, Clinch Mountain Sweethearts: Ralph Stanley & Friends.
In 2004 she released Lifeline, an album of gospel songs. It included 12 covers and one original composition ("He Reached Down"). It was the first album she released on Flariella Records, a label she started herself and named after her mother. A shortened version of her rendition of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" was later used in the closing credits of the Coen brothers' film True Grit. On October 2, 2012, DeMent released her first album of original songs in 16 years, Sing the Delta.
DeMent has sung duets with Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris and is featured on the albums of many other performers. She sang the Merle Haggard song "Big City" on Tulare Dust: A Songwriters' Tribute to Merle Haggard. She has made frequent appearances on Garrison Keillor's radio show A Prairie Home Companion. DeMent contributed harmony vocals to "Pallbearer", a song from country artist Josh Turner's 2012 album Punching Bag.
In 2015, DeMent released The Trackless Woods, an album based upon and inspired by the words of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, on her own Flariella record label. She reunited with John Prine in 2016 for his second duets album For Better, or Worse and performed on two tracks. DeMent received the Americana Trailblazer Award at the 2017 Americana Music Honors & Awards.
Acres of Corn
Iris DeMent Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now I'm a grown woman but my thoughts are still wild
I thought I'd seen London or maybe Paris
but I'm starin' at cornfields and they're starin' at me
But dreams are just things that keep in a jar
You bury your dreams or you wish on a star
for an ocean line ticket back to where you were born
Every now and again I take a small drink
from the blackberry brandy hidden under the sink
And I pull out that steam trunk and put on my gown
and I waltz through these cornfields 'til I fall to the ground
But dreams are just things that you keep in a trunk
'til the men are out workin' or you've gone a bit drunk
Then you unlock your dreams, but they're tattered and worn
So you stare out the window at the acres of corn
Dreams are just things that keep in a jar
You bury your dreams or you wish on a star
for an ocean line ticket back to where you were born
Away from these hard times and the acres of corn
When I was a child, I spoke as a child
Now I'm a grown woman but my thoughts are still wild.
In Iris DeMent's song "Acres of Corn," the verses take us through the emotional journey of a grown woman who is reflecting on her childhood dreams and her current reality. The opening lines emphasize the passage of time and how her thoughts still remain "wild," indicating that despite growing up, she still longs for adventure and excitement. She mentions how she had once thought of traveling to London or Paris, but finds herself staring at acres of corn instead.
Throughout the rest of the song, she discusses how dreams are often kept hidden away or put on hold, as a result of the difficulties of life. She touches on the idea that sometimes people turn to alcohol to escape their current reality and revisit their past dreams. The lines, "Then you unlock your dreams, but they’re tattered and worn, so you stare out the window at the acres of corn," highlight the disappointment and the reality of revisiting old dreams.
Overall, the song resonates with anyone who has ever had grand dreams but felt compelled to put them aside due to circumstance. It speaks to the struggles of living in tough times and losing a sense of hope. The metaphor of the acres of corn represents the mundanity of everyday life and how it can feel overwhelming at times.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was a child, I spoke as a child
I used to have an innocent and naive perspective on life like most children do.
Now I'm a grown woman but my thoughts are still wild
Despite growing up, my thoughts and desires are still uncontrollable and unpredictable.
I thought I'd seen London or maybe Paris
I once had big dreams of exploring new places and experiencing different cultures.
but I'm starin' at cornfields and they're starin' at me
But now I find myself surrounded by the mundane reality of endless cornfields, and it feels like they're mocking me.
But dreams are just things that keep in a jar
Dreams can be put away and forgotten, like something stored in a jar that collects dust on a shelf.
You bury your dreams or you wish on a star
You can either give up on your dreams and let them fade away or hold onto them so tightly that you put your faith in something as distant and unattainable as a distant star.
for an ocean line ticket back to where you were born
Sometimes, when life gets too difficult to bear, you may long to go back to the place where you were born and start anew.
Away from these hard times and the acres of corn
To escape the struggles of life, you may want to leave behind the monotony of your current surroundings, such as these cornfields.
Every now and again I take a small drink
Occasionally, I turn to alcohol to help ease the pain and escape reality for a brief moment.
from the blackberry brandy hidden under the sink
I keep a bottle of blackberry brandy hidden away for those moments.
And I pull out that steam trunk and put on my gown
Sometimes, I'll dress up and reminisce about my past, by looking at old pictures or bringing out my old clothes from my trunk.
and I waltz through these cornfields 'til I fall to the ground
I imagine a life where I'm free to dance in these cornfields, letting go of all my troubles for a little while, until the harsh reality sets in again.
But dreams are just things that you keep in a trunk
As time passes, your dreams can start to feel like a distant memory that you keep locked away in a trunk.
'til the men are out workin' or you've gone a bit drunk
Sometimes, you'll only allow yourself to revisit those dreams when you're alone or when you've been drinking and the inhibitions come down.
Then you unlock your dreams, but they're tattered and worn
When you finally do revisit those dreams, the hopes and aspirations you once had may be faded, outdated or downright unattainable.
So you stare out the window at the acres of corn
You're forced to confront the same old reality, feeling trapped and hopeless, staring out at those cornfields once again.
Dreams are just things that keep in a jar
The repetition of this line throughout the song emphasizes the idea that dreams are fragile, temporary things, easily forgotten and replaced by the harsh realities of life.
Writer(s): RUSSELL THOMAS G
Contributed by Lily T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.