Although she put those plans on hold to get married, her singing voice was an inspiration and influence for her youngest daughter Iris.

[4] DeMent left high school in the tenth grade to work full time at a Kmart store.

[4] "Our Town" was played during the closing scene for the final episode (July 26, 1995) of CBS's television series Northern Exposure.

Her first album, Infamous Angel, was released in 1992 on the Rounder-Philo label and explored such themes as religious skepticism, small-town life, and human frailty.

"Let the Mystery Be" has been covered by a number of artists, including 10,000 Maniacs (whose 'Unplugged' version featured Talking Heads' David Byrne), as well as Alice Stuart.

[8] DeMent sang the duet "Bell Bottomed Tear" as part of The Beautiful South's Much Later with Jools live special in 1997.

[14] A shortened version of her rendition of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" was later used in the closing credits of the Coen brothers' film True Grit.

She has made frequent appearances on Garrison Keillor's radio show A Prairie Home Companion.

DeMent contributed harmony vocals to "Pallbearer", a song from country artist Josh Turner's 2012 album Punching Bag.

[16] In 2015, DeMent released The Trackless Woods, an album based upon and inspired by the words of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, on her own Flariella record label.