Iris DeMent at 55: A Voice From The Past In All Of Us

Today is Iris DeMent's birthday (1961). Writers for a National Public Radio "Soundstage" appearance in March 2013 had this to say about her:

DeMent grew up in rural Arkansas with 14 brothers and sisters, immersed in gospel music and traditional country. Not surprisingly, her voice sounds as if it comes from the previous century, but her songwriting often has as much in common with Randy Newman and Joni Mitchell as Hank Williams.

Her voice and songwriting is compelling to say the least and for some it may take a bit of  adjustment, attention, and persistence to appreciate her talents. Below is a track from her latest, The Trackless Woods, based on the words of the Russian poet, Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966).

Every time I hear her sing it reminds me of listening to the music at the church picnics and family reunions encountered during vacations and long weekends in rural West Virginia. The sounds drifted up to our summer place from a pavilion in the woods. The sound was distant, almost out of time and place, and rooted in family and faith, two concepts that mattered in the 1950's. Much has changed in half a century. Perhaps that is the reason DeMent speaks so eloquently to us today as we long for anchors in a fast-paced and often disconnected world.

A woman's voice, like the wind, it rushes

Nocturnal, moist and black

And as it flies, whatever it brushes

It changes and it won't change back

It's a diamond-shine, comes to bathe and bless

Things are draped in a silvery light

It rustles its suggestive dress

Woven of fantasy, silken and bright

And the power that propels the enchanted voice

Displays such a hidden might

It's as if the grave were not ahead

It's as if the grave were not ahead

But mysterious stairs beginning their flight

And the power that propels the enchanted voice

Displays such a hidden might

It's as if the grave were not ahead

It's as if the grave were not ahead

It's as if the grave were not ahead

But mysterious stairs beginning their flight

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
irisdement.com
wikipedia.org

Text:
irisdement.org
wikipedia.org
metrolyrics.com