"Introduction - Tennessee Mountain Home" lyrics
Hi there, this is Dolly, and I'd like to tell you a little bit about my family, and my Smoky Mountain DNA
It stretches from the hollers of the Great Smoky Mountains, way back to the mountains and valleys of Wales and deep into the forests of England
Music's been in our blood for generations, a precious gift passed down from our ancestors. When they moved to the Appalachian region, they found a new home in the Smoky Mountains that reminded them so much of the land they left behind
The real heart of our story begins with our Great Granddaddy, the renowned banjo player J.R. Owens and his wife Melinda, who also played banjo and sang
In 19 and 31, J.R. Owens bought our Tennessee Mountain Home, the place that has become the cornerstone of both the Owens and the Partons' musical journey
J.R. was a renowned banjo player, famous for his rendition of that glorious old fiddle tune Sourwood Mountain. My Great Aunt Lilly loved to tell tales about her Daddy, who played in front of the old wind-up telephone, with neighbors gathering on the party line to listen to his music. In many ways, he was an early pioneer of music streaming, don't you think?
But it was his son, the Reverend Jake Owens, my Momma's Daddy, that truly inspired us all. Jake was a gifted fiddle player – played piano, wrote songs, played guitar, but it was his fiddle that embodies our rich musical history, as it passed down through five generations of my family
That fiddle's story was caught up with some of the fabled tales of North Carolina, including the Grooms family and the Grooms tune, narratives that later found their way into the movie Cold Mountain
The Reverend Jake's love for music went far beyond his own playing. As a school teacher, music teacher and preacher, he encouraged everyone around him to embrace music. His passion sparked a flame in his children that has carried on to this very day
In the 19 and 40s, my parents bought the Tennessee Mountain Home, turning it into a sanctuary to our families and musical traditions. Today the home and the fiddle remain with us, symbols of a legacy that continues to inspire and connect us to our roots. Through the years, the music of our ancestors has been a constant thread, weaving through our lives and reminding us of where we came from
We've absorbed the tradition of ballads of the homeland from where we came. We have learned our craft through the old timey music that we danced to on the porches of Appalachia. We were greatly influenced by the country and rockabilly music that came out of nearby Knoxville, and we have traveled that musical highway all the way to the contemporary sounds that today we call "americana", "country" and even "rock music"
It's all here, represented in this collection of songs lovingly created by my relatives. This is our story. It's a testament to the enduring power of music and family. It's buried deep in our Smoky Mountain DNA
It stretches from the hollers of the Great Smoky Mountains, way back to the mountains and valleys of Wales and deep into the forests of England
Music's been in our blood for generations, a precious gift passed down from our ancestors. When they moved to the Appalachian region, they found a new home in the Smoky Mountains that reminded them so much of the land they left behind
The real heart of our story begins with our Great Granddaddy, the renowned banjo player J.R. Owens and his wife Melinda, who also played banjo and sang
In 19 and 31, J.R. Owens bought our Tennessee Mountain Home, the place that has become the cornerstone of both the Owens and the Partons' musical journey
J.R. was a renowned banjo player, famous for his rendition of that glorious old fiddle tune Sourwood Mountain. My Great Aunt Lilly loved to tell tales about her Daddy, who played in front of the old wind-up telephone, with neighbors gathering on the party line to listen to his music. In many ways, he was an early pioneer of music streaming, don't you think?
But it was his son, the Reverend Jake Owens, my Momma's Daddy, that truly inspired us all. Jake was a gifted fiddle player – played piano, wrote songs, played guitar, but it was his fiddle that embodies our rich musical history, as it passed down through five generations of my family
That fiddle's story was caught up with some of the fabled tales of North Carolina, including the Grooms family and the Grooms tune, narratives that later found their way into the movie Cold Mountain
The Reverend Jake's love for music went far beyond his own playing. As a school teacher, music teacher and preacher, he encouraged everyone around him to embrace music. His passion sparked a flame in his children that has carried on to this very day
In the 19 and 40s, my parents bought the Tennessee Mountain Home, turning it into a sanctuary to our families and musical traditions. Today the home and the fiddle remain with us, symbols of a legacy that continues to inspire and connect us to our roots. Through the years, the music of our ancestors has been a constant thread, weaving through our lives and reminding us of where we came from
We've absorbed the tradition of ballads of the homeland from where we came. We have learned our craft through the old timey music that we danced to on the porches of Appalachia. We were greatly influenced by the country and rockabilly music that came out of nearby Knoxville, and we have traveled that musical highway all the way to the contemporary sounds that today we call "americana", "country" and even "rock music"
It's all here, represented in this collection of songs lovingly created by my relatives. This is our story. It's a testament to the enduring power of music and family. It's buried deep in our Smoky Mountain DNA
