Songfacts®:

• Amos Lee recorded Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song in Nashville with producer Jay Joyce. After tracking this song, they both felt something was initially missing and it was Lee's idea to ask Patty Griffin to sing with him on the track. "I love what she does," he stated to The Boot. "I love the way she writes and the way she sings, and I knew that Jay had worked with her before, and that her piano is in that studio. So I just figured I'd ask Jay, "Hey man, if Patty would be into singing on this, that'd be great. If she doesn't want to, that's cool, too, but I love what she does.'"
  
  The resulting track turned out just as Lee hoped "I think she brought the song to a whole other level, which is what I thought she would do," he said. "So it was pretty cool. You bring people in who you trust and admire, and just let them do what they do."
• Lee explained the meaning of the Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song album title to The Boot. "It's supposed to signify a journey," he said. "Sort of an homage to some of the folks who came before me, and have persevered through lifetimes, and continue to create music."
• Lee told American Songwriter magazine that he is especially proud of this song, "because it's written to someone that helped me out of a dark place." He added: "I will always think of that song and its place of origin in a very strong and centered place."