Rosanne Cash explores her roots

Rosanne Cash's new album "The River and the Thread" is out today.

She told Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep that the songs are based on a journey she took through the south which started with a visit to the home in Arkansas where her father Johnny Cash grew up during the Great Depression.

Cash, who was born in Memphis, says she finds the mythic quality of the South consuming. That's part of the reason why she has experienced it mostly as a visitor rather than a resident.

"The things you push away the hardest when you're young, you end up embracing when you get older," she says. "I just thought it was too claustrophobic; I had to get away. Now, seeing the richness of it, the beauty, the connectedness, you know, it's amazing. It moves me to tears when I think about it. And the fact that these songs came from it -- it's been the greatest gift of my life, besides my children."

For a limited time, you can stream the album here for free.

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