Review: Iris Dement Chooses the Path of Love in the Face of Hate on 'Workin' on a World'
One of Mr. Rogers' most famous quotes is, when children witness scary things, “find the helpers.” It's a philosophy that Iris Dement puts to good use on her new album Workin' on a World, her first since 2015. Since that album, we've seen a nation divided, an insurrection to overthrow a democratically elected government, and an ugliness in our public discourse the likes of which has never been seen on American shores. It's easy to get discouraged. But Dement, while venting her rage at choice targets, strikes an overall balance of appealing to peace.
While there are many highlights on Workin' on a World, two bookend Dement's philosophies. The first is “Warriors of Love.” Throughout, Dement name checks people who either gave up or risked their lives for a better world, including civil rights icon John Lewis and Palestine protester Rachel Correy. “Some of them now are gone, but they paved the road we're traveling on, our great warriors of love.” She ends the song with a call to action for new “warriors” who she notes “it's on us to be worthy of our great warriors of love.”
The second is the album's title track. “Workin' on a World” is another song where she acknowledges ugliness by singing “everything I knew was crashing to the ground” in the wake of the 2016 election. But then she pivots to taking inspiration from the people from past generations who fought for racial equality and social justice despite almost certainly never personally seeing the fruits of that labor. “They were workin' on a world they would never see.” Later she turns that philosophy on herself. “Going to work on a world I may never see. Gonna work with those warriors of love who came before and will follow you and me.”
Not that there isn't some anger on Workin' on a World. Considering Dement's mental state in the past few years it's no surprise she needed one song to vent. That song is “Going Down to Sing in Texas.” “Going down to sing in Texas, where everybody carries a gun” she croons. She then goes on to flame those she considers the source of the problem such as Trump, George Bush, and Jeff Bezos and to give a more favorable call to some progressive firebrands who are sure to raise some hackles. The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks), The Squad (a quartet of progressive lawmakers), and even Jesus who she says is “glad he threw those money changers out of the church” before casually mentioning that “the church today wouldn't let him through the door.”
Despite some moments of frustration that can certainly be forgiven considering the circumstances of the world, Dement does what Dement does better than anyone else. As she did when she spoke of a more forgiving and loving faith on her 1992 debut Infamous Angel, she chooses the path of healing, not only finding the helpers but endeavoring to be one.