Subject: RE: Iris De Ment
From:
catspaw49
Date: 08 Aug 01 - 08:10 PM
Here's some bio stuff to disspell the Canadian myth.......
A native of Paragould, Arkansas, DeMent was born on January 5, 1961 and was the last of 14 children born to Patric and Flora Mae DeMent. Although her family had been farmers for several generations, the family farm had failed and been sold by the time she was born. At the age of three, DeMent and her family relocated to Buena Park, California, a small community about an hour from Los Angeles. "We lived in a housing tract," she said. "We didn't have a city or a section of tall buildings, but it was heavily populated with houses lined up against each other, which was very unlike where my family came from."
However, the rural atmosphere of Arkansas continued to be felt throughout DeMent's childhood. "My mom was in her late 40s and my dad was 56 when we moved to California," she said. "They were pretty much who they were. They were determined to continue being who they were. They worked really hard to keep everything in the home the way it had been before. They took us to churches that were full of a lot of Arkansas and Oklahoma transplants. The minister was from the same town that we were from. I felt like I got a good dose of both worlds. "
Music was a thread that bound all the members of DeMent's family. Her father played country fiddle, while her mother -- who sang lead on the gospel-tinged tune "Higher Ground" on Infamous Angel -- dreamed of singing at the Grand Ole Opry. "There was constant music in the house," DeMent recalled. "Everybody in my family was involved in music in some way."
Back to Bob's point......You can see how she really CAN feel the lyrics to many of her best songs can't you?
Spaw
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sj
