Lyrics Iris DeMent – Mama Was Always Tellin’ Her Truth

Well, my mama, she was always tellin’ her truth
Times were hard and that’s how she made it through
When it came to her feelin’s, wasn’t no back burner on that stove
Some little somethin’ would go wrong and she might start yellin’ or cryin’

I would sit in the church house right there beside her
Mama would move when the spirit would guide her
Wavin’ her hands up to heaven singin’ her tune
But if the preacher said somethin’ and she didn’t like it
Her head would go to shakin’, she just wouldn’t hide it
That was mama and she just told her truth

When I was a kid comin’ in from school, I said
«Mama, I’m so worried something could happen to you!»
And if you die, Oh Mama, what am I gonna do?»
She said, Iris just because I’m older than you
Don’t be sure you won’t go before I do
That was mama and she just told her truth

It was my mama who taught me I could tell my truth
And sometimes it’s all that I can do
Lookin’ in from the outside, it might not seem like much
But I’ll tell ya now, if that’s what you’re thinkin’
Your truth can be the difference between swimmin’ and sinkin’
I thank my mama for tellin’ me her truth

If she was glad she took you with her
If she was sad she took you too
There wasn’t a lot of travellin’ she didn’t do
Right there in that little house was a bigger world than I may ever see
Some people liked it and some people didn’t
For some of what she said she may never be forgiven

Life with my mama could sometimes be a rough road
She could say somethin’ and blood would pour from my soul
But I wouldn’t trade one mile of this journey me and her have been on
‘Cause I’ve loved my mama like I’ve never loved another
Long as I live there will be no one above her
I know my mama ’cause she told me her truth

Life as I know it can be a little confusing
I don’t know the difference between winnin’ and losin’
Everytime I find a line that I can walk on, it slips from view
But when it all goes dark and I start losing vision
I just think about her and I know just what I’m missin’
I gotta go back to tellin’ my truth

It was my mama who taught me I could tell my truth
And sometimes it’s all that I can do
Lookin’ in from the outside, it might not seem like much
But I’ll tell ya now, if that’s what you’re thinkin’
Your truth can be the difference between swimmin’ and sinkin’
I thank my mama for tellin’ me her truth