Iris DeMent - Mama Was Always Tellin' Her Truth lyrics

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' If you didn't know better, you'd think one of us was dyin' But that was mama and she just told her truth 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 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 (chorus) 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 But that was mama and she just told her truth 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 (repeat chorus)