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My favorite Dolly Parton songs through all space and time
These little provoked-by-nothing countdowns are something I used to do on my personal blog just to get the juices flowing. But, as my life has become more and more centered around blogging for a living, I've killed my personal blog and will now occasionally bring these contextually challenged lists into this space to spark a little conversation. I tend to find everyone is always scandalized by lists because I'm bound to leave out something they believe absolutely must be included. It's a fun little exercise in subjectivity. So, the rule from here on out with my blog is that, if something is missing and you believe I'm dead wrong because I failed to include it, you are more than welcome to make your own list in the comments or via your own blog.
Now, without any further ado, in absolutely no specific order, here are my five favorite Dolly Parton songs through all space and time:
"The Grass is Blue"
This one is kind of obvious, I think. Maybe I just think that because I've seen so many people cover it lately, have heard several singer-songwriters credit it as the song that made them realize Dolly is a great songwriter. It's not easy to write sarcasm into a song without coming off snobby or trite, but the line that makes this song manages to use sarcasm for what it's good for: reverse psychology. ("I'm perfectly fine now and I don't miss you / The sky is green and the grass is blue".)
"He's Alive"
Dolly has done plenty of gospel tunes through the years, and I'm not typically a fan of this kind of melodramatic gospel stuff. Then the choir comes in, and I'm kind of a sucker for songs that build to the size of a gospel choir. The narrative is also a lot more complex and provocative than your typical "Just believe and praise"-themed gospel tune, which I appreciate.
"Coat of Many Colors"
When I saw Dolly here in Seattle last summer, the woman next to me started sobbing during this song. Dolly has called it her most autobiographical tune. I like it because it ties together spirituality, family, and the importance of one's own self-worth. If there's anything Dolly's good at, it's making about five points with one verse. I also love this video of her performing the song because you can hear her fingernails scraping against the strings. I long ago gave up the delusion of having pretty fingernails if I was going to play guitar, so I have to give credit where credit's due. Anyone who can pick their way through a song with those nails deserves a tip of the hat.
"Here You Come Again"
This tune is cute and accessible, easy to listen to without really grasping all the complicated emotions about which she's singing. But, hone in on the lyrics, and it's at once a terribly sad song about resigning to love and an uplifting tune about being liberated by it. Maybe it's just me, but so many of Dolly's love songs strike me as sad. There's something in her love songs that admits falling in love requires a bit of losing one's self. There's a subtle lament in each of them, and it pops up early on in this song. Besides, there's the line about "looking better than a body has a right to", which is one of my favorite in-song pickup lines ever.
"Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You"
This song is one of the few exceptions to what I just said about Dolly's love songs being so stealthily sad. In fact, I would say it's one of the most sincere, realistic love songs I've ever known. The problem with love songs, why generations of poets and songwriters have continued to write about love, is that it's such an extraordinarily complicated emotion that can never possibly be summed up with a single word. Love in the real world is about transcendence and dedication. It's never all that accessible or simple enough to nail in a rhyme. It's hard and multi-faceted and must exist despite, or often because of, all of life's other distractions and temptations. I know so few songs that really nail it, but this one comes remarkably close. It's not one of her most celebrated songs, but it's become an essential classic to me.
Okay, your turn...
Now, without any further ado, in absolutely no specific order, here are my five favorite Dolly Parton songs through all space and time:
"The Grass is Blue"
This one is kind of obvious, I think. Maybe I just think that because I've seen so many people cover it lately, have heard several singer-songwriters credit it as the song that made them realize Dolly is a great songwriter. It's not easy to write sarcasm into a song without coming off snobby or trite, but the line that makes this song manages to use sarcasm for what it's good for: reverse psychology. ("I'm perfectly fine now and I don't miss you / The sky is green and the grass is blue".)
"He's Alive"
Dolly has done plenty of gospel tunes through the years, and I'm not typically a fan of this kind of melodramatic gospel stuff. Then the choir comes in, and I'm kind of a sucker for songs that build to the size of a gospel choir. The narrative is also a lot more complex and provocative than your typical "Just believe and praise"-themed gospel tune, which I appreciate.
"Coat of Many Colors"
When I saw Dolly here in Seattle last summer, the woman next to me started sobbing during this song. Dolly has called it her most autobiographical tune. I like it because it ties together spirituality, family, and the importance of one's own self-worth. If there's anything Dolly's good at, it's making about five points with one verse. I also love this video of her performing the song because you can hear her fingernails scraping against the strings. I long ago gave up the delusion of having pretty fingernails if I was going to play guitar, so I have to give credit where credit's due. Anyone who can pick their way through a song with those nails deserves a tip of the hat.
"Here You Come Again"
This tune is cute and accessible, easy to listen to without really grasping all the complicated emotions about which she's singing. But, hone in on the lyrics, and it's at once a terribly sad song about resigning to love and an uplifting tune about being liberated by it. Maybe it's just me, but so many of Dolly's love songs strike me as sad. There's something in her love songs that admits falling in love requires a bit of losing one's self. There's a subtle lament in each of them, and it pops up early on in this song. Besides, there's the line about "looking better than a body has a right to", which is one of my favorite in-song pickup lines ever.
"Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You"
This song is one of the few exceptions to what I just said about Dolly's love songs being so stealthily sad. In fact, I would say it's one of the most sincere, realistic love songs I've ever known. The problem with love songs, why generations of poets and songwriters have continued to write about love, is that it's such an extraordinarily complicated emotion that can never possibly be summed up with a single word. Love in the real world is about transcendence and dedication. It's never all that accessible or simple enough to nail in a rhyme. It's hard and multi-faceted and must exist despite, or often because of, all of life's other distractions and temptations. I know so few songs that really nail it, but this one comes remarkably close. It's not one of her most celebrated songs, but it's become an essential classic to me.
Okay, your turn...
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Comment by Michael on March 19, 2009 at 8:56am -
Nice list, Kim! Narrowing down what could have easily been 50 favorite songs to 5 is quite a daunting task. Good job representing my favorite of her pop ("Here You Come Again"), spirtual ("He's Alive"), bluegrass comeback ("The Grass Is Blue") and, arguably, finest songwriting ("Coat of Many Colors") moments . I would have probably replaced the last one with 9 to 5, Light of a Clear Blue Morning, Jolene, God Won't Get You or Single Women. But hey, this wasn't my list. :) Thanks again!
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Comment by Easy Ed on March 19, 2009 at 9:33am -
I've always liked "My Tennessee Mountain Home" and a lot of her duets with Porter Wagoner but of course I can't recall which ones. Used to just love watching their TV show every week. He had the coolest clothes.
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Comment by David Shaw on March 19, 2009 at 5:36pm -
Old Flames ... hadn't heard it by Dolly before ... I have it by the composer Hugh Moffatt (who wrote it with Pebe Sebert) ... Katy Moffatt's brother. Dolly's is pretty good too.
An early one (which I had no idea was written by Dolly) is "Fuel to the Flame" ... on the same CD is the ultraviolent diatribe "I Don't Wanna Throw Rice" which I learned about during an interview with Neko Case.
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Comment by swt on March 20, 2009 at 12:14am -
I'd seen and heard Dolly on the old Porter Wagoner show in the '60s and early '70s, but didn't really come to appreciate her until one afternoon in the summer of '75. My buddy -- let's call him Amarilly -- and I had dropped acid and were looking at all the cool books at a local used bookstore in Albuquerque. When we left, we flipped on the radio in Amerilly's old Buick, a car we called "The Hippo." As usual, it was on the country station. Dolly came on with "I Will Always Love You" and it was so powerful, so beautiful, that Amarilly had to pull the car over. It was just a shitty old car radio, not even stereo. But the sound was rich and deep. Dolly's voice was that of a goddess and I had a vision of her rising and filling the sky, singing her affirmation of love from the Universe. I still get chills when I hear that original version.
But kids: We took all the good drugs 30 years ago. Stay away from them.
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Comment by Kim Ruehl on March 20, 2009 at 1:51pm -
Oh I'm ashamed I've always thought "Old Flames" was a Dolly composition. Maybe I need to pick another that she actually wrote? Maybe that bumps "Jolene" up a bit. At any rate, thanks for the public service message on LSD, Steve. I'm sure it clears us from getting sued, or something...
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Comment by TwangNation.com on March 22, 2009 at 1:32pm
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Comment by Kim Ruehl on March 22, 2009 at 3:56pm
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I do love "Jolene", but I think "Little Sparrow" is just a teensy bit better. Those are the two that edge each other out in my mind, depending on the day and my mood. Today I'm feeling "Little Sparrow" a little more. I know they're on completely different topics, but for some reason they strike the same chord with me.
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Comment by TwangNation.com on March 23, 2009 at 6:46am
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@ Kim - Little Sparrow is fantastic. Both LS and Jolene have that dirge-like sound of old-style murder ballads.
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