The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country-folk-rock band that has e… Read Full Bio ↴The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country-folk-rock band that has existed in various forms since the original founding in California in 1966. The group's membership has had at least a dozen iterations over the years, including five years, between "Dirt, Silver & Gold" (1976) and "Let's Go" (1983), when the band performed and recorded as The Dirt Band.

The band's best-known song was a 1970 cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's folk song "Mr. Bojangles". Their greatest critical acclaim has been for a 1972 album of country and folk standards, recorded in Nashville in collaboration with more traditional country artists, entitled "Will the Circle Be Unbroken".

"Will the Circle be Unbroken" was a collaboration album recorded in 1972 by the Dirt band with traditional artists such as Mother Maybelle Carter, Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Roy Acuff, Merle Watson, Jimmy Martin, Junior Huskey, Norman Blake, and Pete Oswald Kirby (known to Grand Ole Opry fans as Bashful Brother Oswald). Vassar Clements, not widely known then, was tapped for fiddle duties which led to greater notoriety and success for him.

"Will the Circle be Unbroken" featured classic bluegrass and folk standards written by A.P Carter, Doc Watson and others. The title comes from the song of the same name but indicates what the Dirt Band was trying to achieve. The long-haired boys from California were making an effort to reach out to the older veterans of American music and unite them in a divided America. Two other editions were released, one in the 1980s and another after September 11, 2001.

In July 1974 The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was one of the headline acts at The Ozark Music Festival, at the Missouri State Fairgrounds, in Sedalia, Missouri. Some estimates have put the crowd count at 350,000 people, which would make this one of the largest music events in history.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's peak in popularity – at least on the radio — came during the mid- to late-1980s, when they charted a string of successful songs. Among the lot were three No. 1 singles: "Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)" (1984); "Modern Day Romance" (1985); and "Fishin' in the Dark" (1987). Other successful songs were "Dance Little Jean" (1983); "I Love Only You" (1984); "High Horse" (1985); "Home Again in My Heart," "Partners, Brothers and Friends" and "Stand a Little Rain" (1986); "Fire in the Sky," "Baby's Got a Hold on Me" and "Oh What a Love" (1987); "Working Man (Nowhere to Go)" and "I've Been Lookin'" (1988); and "Down That Road Tonight" and "When it's Gone" (1989).

The current members are:

* Bob Carpenter - keyboard, accordion, bass, and vocals (1977-present)
* Jimmie Fadden - drums, harmonica,guitar, washtub bass, jug and vocals (1966-present)
* Jeff Hanna - guitar, mandolin, drums, harmonica, bass, washboard, jug and vocals (1966-present)
* John McEuen - banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, accordion washtub bass and vocals (1966-1986 & 2001-present)

Former members:

* Ralph Barr - guitar, clarinet and vocals (1966-1968)
* Merel Bregante - drums and percussion (1977-1979)
* Jackson Browne - guitar and vocals (1966)
* John Cable - guitar, bass and vocals (1976-1977)
* Jackie Clark - guitar, bass and vocals (1976-1977)
* Chris Darrow - fiddle, guitar, mandolin and vocals (1967-1968)
* Michael Gardner - drums (1980-1981)
* Al Garth - saxophone, fiddle, keyboard, percussion and vocals (1977-1981)
* Richard Hathaway - bass and vocals (1977-1981)
* Jimmy Ibbotson - guitar, bass, mandolin, piano, accordion, drums, flute and vocals (1968-1975 & 1982-2004)
* Bruce Kunkel - guitar, kazoo, vocals (1966-1967)
* Bernie Leadon - guitar, banjo, mandolin and vocals (1987-1989)
* Vic Mastrianni - drums (1980-1981)
* Les Thompson - guitar, bass, mandolin and vocals (1966-1973)

Mama Tried
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The first thing I remember knowin' was a lonesome whistle blowin',
And a youngun's dream of growin' up to ride,
On a freight train leavin' town, not knowin' where I'm bound.
And no one could change my mind but mama tried.
One and only rebel child from a fam'ly meek and mild
My mama seemed to to know what lay in store,
'spite all my sunday learnin' towards the bad I kept on turnin',
'til mama couldn't hold me anymore.

And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole,
No one could steer me right but mama tried, mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
And that leaves only me to blame, cause mama tried

Dear ole' daddy, rest his soul left my mom a heavy load,
She tried so very hard to feel his shoes,
Workin' hours without rest, wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right but I refused.

And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole,
No one could steer me right but mama tried, mama tried

Mama tried to raise me better but her pleading I denied
And that leaves only me to blame, cause mama tried

Overall Meaning

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's song Mama Tried is a poignant and emotional portrayal of a life full of regrets, missed opportunities, and second chances. The song opens with the singer recalling his earliest memories of a lonesome whistle blowing and dreaming of riding on a freight train leaving town, not knowing where he is bound. Despite his family's attempts to steer him in the right direction, the singer is the only rebel child who is determined to chart his own course. He keeps turning towards the bad, and his actions lead him to end up in prison at the age of 21.

Throughout the song, the singer acknowledges that his mama tried to raise him better, but he refused her pleading. He is aware that he is the only one to blame for his mistakes, and his mama deserves better than the life he has given her. He asks for forgiveness and prays for the strength to change, but he knows that it might be too late.

Mama Tried is a song that speaks to the struggles of growing up and the impact a mother's love can have on a child's life. It tells the story of a man who has made many mistakes and is seeking redemption for his past. The song is a reminder that life is full of second chances, and it's up to us to make the most of them.

Line by Line Meaning

The first thing I remember knowin' was a lonesome whistle blowin'
The earliest memory I have is of a train whistle that sounded sad and lonely.

And a youngun's dream of growin' up to ride,
I had a childhood dream of growing up to ride on a freight train and travel the country.

On a freight train leavin' town, not knowin' where I'm bound.
I wanted to leave town on a freight train without knowing where I was headed.

And no one could change my mind but mama tried.
My mom tried to persuade me to change my mind, but no one else had an influence on me.

One and only rebel child from a fam'ly meek and mild,
I was the only rebellious child in a family that was otherwise peaceful and well-behaved.

My mama seemed to to know what lay in store,
My mother had a sense of what was going to happen in my life.

'spite all my sunday learnin' towards the bad I kept on turnin',
Despite going to church and having a religious upbringing, I continued to make bad decisions.

'til mama couldn't hold me anymore.
Eventually, my mother could no longer control my actions.

And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole,
At the age of twenty-one, I found myself in prison serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

No one could steer me right but mama tried, mama tried.
Even though no one else could persuade me to change my ways, my mother made an effort to do so.

Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
My mother attempted to raise me in a better way than I chose to live, but I refused to listen to her advice.

And that leaves only me to blame, cause mama tried
I am solely responsible for my mistakes, even though my mother did try to direct me towards a better path.

Dear ole' daddy, rest his soul left my mom a heavy load,
My deceased father left my mother with a significant burden to bear.

She tried so very hard to fill his shoes,
Despite the challenge, my mother tried extremely hard to take on my father's role and responsibilities.

Workin' hours without rest, wanted me to have the best
My mother worked tirelessly and without rest, in order to provide me with the best possible life.

She tried to raise me right but I refused.
Despite her best efforts, I still refused to follow the right path that my mother tried to raise me on.

Contributed by Sophia M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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