The lyrics of Dolly Parton’s hit solo Jolene is pretty easy to understand despite the ambiguity maintained throughout the song. Releasing in the year 1973, Jolene was the title track of Parton’s album of the same name and undoubtedly one of the biggest hits in the Country music history.
The song won two Grammy nominations in the Best Female Country Vocal Performance category for both the original and live versions, but she didn’t have enough luck. Despite not winning, Jolene had a Grammy in its destiny, therefore 43 years later following the original release, the song received a Grammy for the cover by Pentatonix which Parton also featured in.
Miley's Touch To Dolly's "Jolene"
The song has been in the top slot of everybody’s playlist and chart-buster artist Miley Cyrus certainly can't deny it. Well, Miley has sung multiple songs that originally belong to other artists including Nirvana’s Smell Like Teen Spirit and Melanie Safka’s Look What They Have Done To My Song. One of her best covers came out in the form of Dolly Parton's Jolene. She sang the song with Dolly back in 2010, but later she came on her own and did Parton the best justice. She added a twist to Dolly’s style and gave Jolene a youthful and energetic touch, typical of Miley’s voice.
The Song Is Real Fun To Sing
Miley decided to give her Godmother’s song a shot with her voice, it’s simply because she thinks Jolene is fun to sing. During her live performance in 2017, at Wango Tango, before making the crowd go all Jolene, Miley said, “so I thought, to celebrate it would only be right if we did a little bit of Jolene.” For the record, Jolene is one of Miley's most frequently sung songs despite the fact that it’s not her own creation. She sang it with Parton twice and multiple times as a source of enjoyment.
The Source Of Inspiration Wasn't Just One Lady
The composition was utterly magnificent and so was the story behind every word that stitched the overall song. As per Dolly Parton, her favorite song that she likes to sing quite often is Coat Of Different Colors and the reason being the true story behind it. Considering that, there has to be something similar with Jolene and yes, there it goes, the inspiration for the song Jolene came to Parton from a red-headed bank clerk who would flirt with her husband. At the time, she was newly married and obviously cautious of the climate around his hubby. But wait, she wasn't the only inspiration for the song.
The lyrics of the song goes as, "Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I'm begging you please don't take my man... Your beauty is beyond compare with flaming locks of auburn hair, with ivory skin and eyes of emerald green. Jolene, Jolene..." Pretty snappy!
Although only "Jolene" is called out throughout the song, there is an ultimate surprise hidden within. The lady she is requesting to let go of her husband is the bank clerk, but the one she’s praising for her captivating looks is not the same girl. Now, that’s something! The girl who was showered with loads of praises was actually Parton’s fan who once came onto the stage to get her autograph and Jolene was her name.