Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Dolly Parton's Jolene

Dolly Parton's Jolene

Hamessley, Lydia R.

Paperback

Series: Oxford Keynotes

Country & FolkGeneral MusicSongwriting

ISBN10: 0197760317
ISBN13: 9780197760314
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: May 16 2025
Pages: 192
Weight: 0.40
Height: 0.60 Width: 5.30 Depth: 7.90
Language: English
Jolene is one of Dolly Parton's most well-known and beloved songs. Released in 1974 as the title song of Dolly's thirteenth studio album, it has become a cultural phenomenon. Often seen as a cheating song, Jolene is compelling because of its ambiguity: Who is Jolene? Is she a heartless homewrecker or an unwilling recipient of attention from a guy who will cheat on his partner? What does she decide? Does she want to have an affair? Is Jolene sung by a narrator who is fearful and weak? Or is the singer taking matters into her own hands?

In Dolly Parton's Jolene, author Lydia R. Hamessley offers readers new perspectives on the song through a close look at Dolly's stories about the song's origins and its place on her album Jolene. Hamessley offers multiple ways of understanding the lyrics and includes a detailed musical analysis. The book explores notable covers of the song, including Olivia Newton-John's recording of Jolene and the duet version of Jolene that she and Dolly recorded just months before Newton-John's death. Hamessley also looks at covers by Mindy Smith, The White Stripes, The Congo Cowboys, Lil Nas X, Gloria Ann Taylor, and Chiquis and Becky G, as well as the Jolene episode from Dolly's 2019 television series, Heartstrings, and several answer songs, including You Can Have Him Jolene by Chapel Hart. How has one song had the flexibility to embrace so many versions, responses, and reimagining? Hamessley argues that these are possible because the song is, in a sense, unfinished: my happiness depends on you and whatever you decide to do, Jolene.

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