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.
Mama's Opry
Iris DeMent Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Her daddy played the fiddle and use to do the calling
When they had hoedowns
She said the neighbors would come
And they'd move all my grandma's furniture 'round
And there'd be twenty or more there on the old wooden floor
Dancing to a country sound
And on Saturday nights there was a radio show
And she would sing along
And I'll never forget her face when she revealed to me
That she'd dreamed about singing at The Grand Ol' Opry
Her eyes, oh how they sparkled when she sang those songs
While she was hanging the clothes on the line
I was a kid just a humming along
Well, I'd be playing in the grass,
To her what might of seemed obliviously
But there ain't no doubt about it, she sure made her mark on me
She played old gospel records on the phonograph
She turned them up loud and we'd sing along
But those days have passed
Just now that I am older it occurs to me
That I was singing in the grandest opry
And we sang Sweet Rose of Sharon, Abide With Me
'til I ride The Gospel Ship to Heaven's Jubilee
And In That Great Triumphant Morning my soul will be free
And My Burdens Will Be Lifted when my savior's face I see
So I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World below
But I know He'll Pilot Me 'til it comes time to go
Oh, nothing on this earth is half as dear to me
As the sound of my Mama's Opry
And we sang Sweet Rose of Sharon, Abide With Me
'til I ride The Gospel Ship to Heaven's Jubilee
And In That Great Triumphant Morning my soul will be free
And My Burdens Will Be Lifted when my savior's face I see
So I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World below
But I know He'll Pilot Me 'til it comes time to go
Oh, nothing on this earth is half as dear to me
As the sound of my Mama's Opry
Iris DeMent's song "Mama's Opry" tells the story of a girl growing up in a farming town, whose father played the fiddle and called dances. The song describes how the neighbors would come over and move the grandma's furniture around to make room for the hoedowns. The girl's love of country music was fueled by her father's fiddling and the radio shows on Saturday nights. She dreamed of singing at The Grand Ol' Opry and her eyes sparkled when she sang along to her favorite songs while doing chores like hanging clothes on the line. The song also talks about the importance of gospel music in the family's life.
The song's chorus repeats phrases from old gospel songs, highlighting the importance of faith and spiritual beliefs in the girl's life. The song speaks to the power of music to mark moments in our lives and the way those moments shape us. "Mama's Opry" is a tender ode to the love of a mother and the way she passed on her love of music and faith to her child.
Line by Line Meaning
She grew up plain and simple in a farming town
She had a humble upbringing in a rural area
Her daddy played the fiddle and use to do the calling, When they had hoedowns
Her father would play music and lead dances for the community
She said the neighbors would come, And they'd move all my grandma's furniture 'round, And there'd be twenty or more there on the old wooden floor, Dancing to a country sound
The whole town would come together to dance and socialize at these events
The Carters and Jimmy Rodgers played her favorite songs, And on Saturday nights there was a radio show, And she would sing along
She loved listening to popular country music and would sing along to her favorite tunes on the radio
And I'll never forget her face when she revealed to me, That she'd dreamed about singing at The Grand Ol' Opry
She had a lifelong dream of performing at the famous Grand Ole Opry
Her eyes, oh how they sparkled when she sang those songs, While she was hanging the clothes on the line, I was a kid just a humming along
Even while doing everyday household tasks, she would still light up while singing her favorite songs and her child enjoyed singing along with her
But there ain't no doubt about it, she sure made her mark on me
Her love of music left a lasting impression on her child
And we sang Sweet Rose of Sharon, Abide With Me, 'til I ride The Gospel Ship to Heaven's Jubilee, And In That Great Triumphant Morning my soul will be free, And My Burdens Will Be Lifted when my savior's face I see, So I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World below, But I know He'll Pilot Me 'til it comes time to go
Together, they would sing gospel songs and express their faith in God's guidance and that their souls would one day be free in heaven
Oh, nothing on this earth is half as dear to me, As the sound of my Mama's Opry
The memories and love of her mother's love of music are priceless and cherished above all else
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IRIS DEMENT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dand4692
She grew up plain and simple in a farming town
Her daddy played the fiddle and use to do the calling when they had hoedowns
She said the neighbors would come
And they'd move all my grandma's furniture 'round
And there'd be twenty or more there on the old wooden floor
Dancing to a country sound
The Carters and Jimmy Rodgers played her favourite songs
And on Saturday nights there was a radio show
And she would sing along
And I'll never forget her face when she revealed to me
That she'd dreamed about singing at The Grand Ol' Opry
Her eyes, oh how they sparkled when she sang those songs
While she was hanging the clothes on the line
I was a kid just a humming along
Well, I'd be playing in the grass,
To her what might've seemed obliviously
But there ain't no doubt about it, she sure made her mark on me
She played old gospel records on the phonograph
She turned them up loud and we'd sing along
But those days have passed
Just now that I am older it occurs to me
That I was singing in the grandest opry
And we sang Sweet Rose of Sharon, Abide With Me
'Til I ride The Gospel Ship to Heaven's Jubilee
And In That Great Triumphant Morning my soul will be free
And My Burdens Will Be Lifted when my Saviour's face I see
So I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World below
But I know He'll Pilot Me 'til it comes time to go
Oh, nothing on this earth is half as dear to me
As the sound of my Mama's Opry
And we sang Sweet Rose of Sharon, Abide With Me
'Til I ride The Gospel Ship to Heaven's Jubilee
And In That Great Triumphant Morning my soul will be free
And My Burdens Will Be Lifted when my Saviour's face I see
So I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World below
But I know He'll Pilot Me 'til it comes time to go
Oh, nothing on this earth is half as dear to me
As the sound of my Mama's Opry
@vasaricorridor7989
Least we Forget...
The 1st thought came into my mind while listening to
this was my Grandmother's stories she use to share
with me ............. One of the most profound stories
was : The red stripes on the American flag represented
the blood that use to run down their faces after getting
beat by the police , ....... The stars was what they seen
when they got hit in their head with the sticks........
and the white part was the obvious : She said don't
ever give allegiance to a flag that ( HATE ) you , give
allegiance to " THE MOST HIGH GOD " who will deliver you
from the hand of your enemy and land of captivity ./
but the Lord laughs them to scorn
And they shall afterward become dishonored corpses
and an unceasing mockery among the dead,.
For he shall strike them down speechless
and prostrate and rock them to their foundations;
They shall be utterly laid waste
and shall be in grief and their memory shall perish.
@barrylitchfield8357
It took me 10 years to discover this YouTube video. The graphics match the words in the song beautifully! We're all showing our age as we get older. But Iris Dement's voice is ageless. So unusual and pure.
Thanks Iris. You're a beautiful person with a God given talent.
@williamcole9040
NO FRILLS WITH THIS GIRL,JUST AN ALMIGHTY GOD GIVEN TALENT. YOU ARE UNIQUE IRIS…..AND A BEAUTIFUL SONG.
@malcolmbond3596
This could be up there as the greatest ever Country song written and performed, Iris, the lyrics, the harmony and Iris's backing band are nothing short of sheer perfection, it doesn't get any better than this, thank you.
@lewisc215
comparisons are for infants.
@garyschneider8829
Who's backing band
Oakridge Boys.. Iris is 😊❤
@lloydwiles774
Although this lady and I have never met, I get this wonderful feeling inside of me every time I hear her do this touching song which she had written for her mother. Lets me know that she dearly loved her mom, which is how it should always be. What a sweet and tender voice that she has. Although I don't know her personally, as I have said, I would love to have the chance to meet her one day. I am certain that I would enjoy pickin' 'n grinnin' with her. I really love the sound of her beautiful voice. To me it's a blend of country and folk, which is nice. 🥰
@donaldmackillop6736
Oh my we are all listening on the North Atlantic Shipper of the Commaught3 hunting wonderful track wonderful dress too.
@rodcollman6849
beautiful so smooth and with feeling Iris at her usual best
@jasonweiss2773
Our Town is the saddest most beautiful song ever. Hope they play it at my passing. Unique and wonderful talent.
@khavafis
Iris is one of the most beautiful women I can think of. And her modesty all along since youth... in the times we're living. Of course her music is off the charts. God bless her.