Wildwood Flower, popularised by the Carter Family, here performed by Emmylou Harris with Randy Scruggs and Iris DeMent. Late on Saturday nights on ABC radio John Nutting used to play a ‘Track of Tragedy’. This one isn’t tragic, but it doesn’t have a happy ending.
It seems like I’ve never posted Iris Dement’s rendition of Leaning On The Everlasting Arms. The first time I heard it (at the end of the Coen Brothers’ version of True Grit) my initial response was quite negative. But pretty quickly her recording and the album it comes from (Lifeline) endeared themselves to me.
Confession: when I first heard Iris Dement singing Leaning On The Everlasting Arms during the end credits of True Grit I hated it. A lot. My daughter still ribs me about it. Because I came to fall in love with Iris’ vocals of that song and all the songs on Lifeline, her Appalachian style album …
