The Caverns Sessions

- Hidden deep beneath the Cumberland Mountains in Grundy County, Tennessee, lies one of the world's most magical musical adventures, "The Caverns Sessions."

Three million years in the making, pure acoustics offer music from the heart of the American experience, center stage and deep inside the mountain.

This time welcoming Della Mae.

A bourbon hound... Why don't you swing it on back - It's deep down musical diversity at "The Caverns Sessions," Coming up next!

(applause and cheering) - All right, Caverns, let's do it, come on, baby.

(audience cheering) (upbeat music) Two, three, four!

(up tempo country music) I miss long lines at the airport And waiting at a bus station for transport To carry me to my destination Middle seat in economy This lifestyle's a part of me I like turning the covers down From town to town Oh, is it all over Now... I'm just wondering How long ... Will there be no one to sing these songs On the St Regis River There's a bar lined with silvers We always pull over for a shot and a beer And off the coast of Oregon Where the sea swallows the sun As we walk the beach talking About what is yet to come Oh, is it all over Now... I'm just wonderin' How long... Will there be no one to sing these songs (up tempo country music) (up tempo country music) There's the pirate of St Augustine Oh, the long lines at Jesus's feet Getting hustled in the streets of Ho Chi Minh I'd lay on all the airport floors To know that I could come back for more Let me ride into the distance with my guitar (up tempo country music) (up tempo country music) I never thought I'd miss long lines at the airport Waiting at a bus station for transport Driving through the night to my destination Oh, and drinking too much coffee This lifestyle's a part of me I like turning the covers down From town to town Oh, is it all over Now... I'm just wondering How long... Oh, is it all over Now... I'm just wondering how, whoo (up tempo country music) (applause and cheering) - We are so excited to be playing a show here.

It's just truly epic.

Look at us.

Look at us all, all of us in this beautiful place.

(audience applauding) (gentle upbeat music) Well, the road was hot and flat as a ruler Good 100 miles between me and Missoula The vinyl top wasn't gettin' no cooler So I stopped at a quickie sack Yeah, so I figured I'd need about a six of Miller And one of those things so I wouldn't spill 'er And I asked the girl if the beer was in the back She said, it's a dry town No beer, no liquor for miles around I'd give a nickel for a sip or two To wash me down Outta this dry town (gentle upbeat music) So I turned right around, no hesitation Cursed the law for ruinin' the nation Waved goodbye to the boy at the station But she wouldn't go into gear He said it sounds like your transmission You need Barb, but she's gone fishin' Her day off, she gets a long way from here 'Cause it's dry town No beer, no liquor for miles around I'd give a nickel for a sip or two To wash me down And outta this dry town (gentle upbeat music) (gentle upbeat music) - (laughing) Yeah!

Well, back home friends you can get a dose Of something strong from your local grocer So I walked down 'til I came a little closer To a place called Happy John's He said, I keep something here for colds and fevers Down underneath where I usually leave her But just last night I felt a cold comin' on 'Cause it's a dry town No beer, no liquor for miles around I'd give a nickel for a sip or two To wash me down Outta this dry town I'd need a sip or two To wash me down Outta this dry town (gentle upbeat music) (applause and cheering) (solemn music) - One, two, three.

(gentle upbeat music) What are the odds of getting even What is the cost of dreaming I've carried the cross of believing Asking God for a reason Counted the days I waited Shuffling cards, cleaning tables If I got a heart, I gotta play it You only feel it when it's racing Come the morning I'll be leaving It's too late in the evening To play the odds Of gettin' even (gentle country music) There is a field, I gotta find it There is this horse runnin' wild And every night I run beside it And someday I'm gonna ride it Out in the air, out in the moonlight You'll be a flash in the back of my mind Placing your bets, watchin' the mud fly Rolling your dice back on the sidelines Come the morning I'll be leaving It's too late in the evening To play the odds Of gettin' even (gentle upbeat music) (gentle upbeat music) (audience cheering) (gentle upbeat music) You can hold it without showing But the cracks will keep on growing And then I hear they don't let no one Carry a grudge where I'm going I don't have time for crying I might be falling or flying I might be water or lightning When I watch the gold sun rising (gentle upbeat music) Come the morning I'll be leaving It's too late in the evening To play the odds Of gettin' even (gentle upbeat music) Can't you feel the ground turning Can't you feel the hours burning Oh, the odds of gettin' even Will no longer be my burden Will no longer be my burden Will no longer be my... (applause and cheering) - Thank you.

(applause and cheering) - I wrote this when I was sittin' at home and I had no idea what to write about.

And I looked up and there was the liquor cabinet, and I was like, "Oh, I could try to write a song and name all of the types of bourbon in my cabinet."

(audience chuckles) This is called, "Bourbon Hound."

(upbeat country music) Why don't you swing it on back Make another Old Fashioned Stir it up right for all that dancing Baby, won't you whirl me around You know that you're my bourbon hound Yeah, Jefferson will set you up right Booker takes you home for the night A little Buffalo Trace and my feet are off the ground And now I'm dancing with a bourbon hound Why don't you swing it on back Make another Old Fashioned Stir it up right for all that dancing Baby, won't you whirl me around You know that you're my bourbon hound (upbeat country music) (upbeat country music) - Yeah!

Yeah, Jameson for the morning Joe I'm a whiskey girl too, now don't you know A little Bulleit for the old pass around You know there's nothing like a bourbon hound Why don't you swing it on back Make another Old Fashioned Stir it up right for all that dancing Baby, won't you whirl me around You know that you're my bourbon hound (upbeat country music) (upbeat country music) Yeah, the fox and the hound went out one night And got into a great big fight Took a draw of the Jack and fell onto the ground You know there's nothing like a bourbon hound Why don't you swing it on back Make another Old Fashioned Stir it up right for all that dancing Baby, won't you whirl me around You know that you're my bourbon hound (upbeat country music) (upbeat country music) When you're on your feet and don't want to tire It helps to have a little nip of fire Ol' Pappy's gonna lift you off of the ground You know that you're my bourbon hound Why don't you swing it on back Make another Old Fashioned Stir it up right for all that dancing Baby, won't you whirl me around You know that you're my bourbon hound (upbeat country music) (applause and cheering) - Thank you.

(applause and cheering) - So this next tune, this is one I wrote with a good friend of mine, Mark Erelli.

It does make you think a lot about the time before the pandemic, and how certain things might need to be changed a little bit.

How we could become better as a community, as a family of human beings in this amazing country.

And I really hope that you can feel that humanity in these stories.

How much these people are just like you, just like one of your good friends, just like someone you know.

I think that might be how we could get back to being on a level with one another, is recognize our common humanity.

(audience applauding) (upbeat country music) (upbeat country music) I left my home, I rolled the dice Followed the promise of a better life Now I work at the factory On the third shift while my kids sleep They say our job's a necessity And turn the lock and hide the key They call us heroes on the killing floor But a day off is something that I can't afford We can't go back to the way it was before While some profit off the ones who just endure We all know what's broken won't get fixed By wishin' and hopin' We can't just go back to the way it was before (upbeat country music) (upbeat country music) He walked me down the aisle just last July And when he gave me away, oh, how he cried And in the spring we said we've got big news to share He said I'll get some wine along the way somewhere You always think it happens in another town Till someone pulls a gun and shots ring out Now there's a hole in our family And a granddaughter on the way he'll never meet We can't go back to the way it was before Afraid to go to school or to a grocery store We all know it needs repair It won't get fixed by thoughts and prayers We can't just go back to the way it was before (upbeat country music) (upbeat country music) And now I'm scrolling though the headlines on my screen Another black man crying out that he can't breathe Why am I surprised that it's happening again Isn't this the way it's always been It don't even matter if there was a crime The system works exactly how it was designed And the indifference is so deeply ingrained That means I'm the one that needs to make a change We can't go back to the way it was before The injustice can no longer be ignored Oh, none of us are free, until we all can be... We can't just go back to the way it was before (upbeat country music) (upbeat country music) (applause and cheering) - Thank you so much.

I really do mean it.

And I don't think anyone here on stage takes for granted anymore the gift that it is to be able to share this kind of energy with a group of people and have it reflected back at them.

So I really wanna thank you for supporting live music.

(applause and cheering) It means so much.

(applause and cheering) - We're gonna close our set out with a fiddle tune that I wrote in Florida.

I'm from the Northwest and it was a complete shock about the bugs in the sand in the summer in the night.

(audience laughing) We're Della Mae, thank you so much.

This says the "No See-um" stomp.

(violin plays) (audience applauding) Sorry.

(chuckles) (cheerful bright country music) (cheerful bright country music) - Thank you so much, Caverns!

(cheering and applause)