So, I saw reference to this on Twitter, when Phillip Adams asked the twitterverse last weekend to tell him the meaning of life. (I think he was looking for column fodder.) Someone in response suggested he look up a song Let the Mystery Be by Iris DeMent. So I did, and I don't think I had heard it before. It's pretty likeable:
Even though it was new to me, I see that it has been covered at least a couple of times, and look!, there's a version which has David Byrne participating in it (and Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs):
It's a pretty nice cover!
I realised I would have heard Iris Dement before, as she sang Our Town, which was used in the final episode of Northern Exposure:
I think I probably assumed it was a song by some early to mid 20th century country singer, but Iris wrote it when she was 25 (in 1986.)
Her Wikipedia page indicates she has put out 6 albums, which isn't a huge amount. Seems her politics are very Left-ish as well: perhaps that puts a limit on country singer success in the US.
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