Dolly Parton Didn’t Expect Beyoncé To Change The “Jolene” Lyrics
“It was very bold of her.”
Willie Nelson said it best on KNTRY Radio Texas: Beyoncé knows how to deliver “some good sh*t.” That compliment describes the genius of her latest Cowboy Carter album, where she tips her stetson to various genres — remember, this “ain’t a country album, it’s a Beyoncé album” — and the icons present in those spaces. On the record, she created her own genre-less tracks and reinterpreted a few classics, such as Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” And recently, Mrs. Dolly P herself shared her thoughts on the new take.
On May 31, Parton described Beyoncé’s rendition as “bold” to E!. “When they said she was gonna do ‘Jolene,’ I expected it to be my regular one, but it wasn’t,” she said. “I love what she did to it. And as a songwriter, you love the fact that people do your songs no matter how they do them.”
Beyoncé’s riff of “Jolene,” which includes new lyrics and crisper production, has a biting edge that reminds of Lemonade. Instead of begging her man’s mistress to leave like in the original, Beyoncé took a more cutthroat route, threatening a world of trouble for the woman who’s been eyeing her man. The singer isn’t phased by Jolene’s “beauty and seductive stares,” but rather amused that she would even flaunt those tactics to break up her relationship. Remember, she’s a “Creole banjee b*tch from Louisiane” that doesn’t tolerate disrespect.
This unfiltered caution stood out to Parton, who’d been requesting Beyoncé to cover the track since 2022. “She wasn’t gonna go beg some other woman like I did. [She said], ‘Sh*t, get out here, b*tch. You ain’t stealin’ mine,” she said, joking that she might rewrite “Jolene” in Beyoncé’s style.
Elsewhere in the interview, Parton praised Cowboy Carter as a whole. “I was very proud of her album. I thought she did a great job in country music, and I was just happy she did ‘Jolene.’ I, of course, would have loved to have heard how she would have done it in its original way. But of course, you know, it’s Beyoncé. Her life is different than mine,” she said.
Parton revealed she’d love to perform the new rendition with Beyoncé — if her schedule allows, of course. (The singer’s currently busy with her Dollywood Museum in Tennessee.) The 9 to 5 star also shared that she stayed in contact with Beyoncé during the process of Cowboy Carter. “We were sending each other flowers and love notes. Yeah, it’s all good,” she said.
On Parton’s original track, Jolene was already considered a nemesis. However, Beyoncé’s approach to the character elevated her to new villainous territory, and it’s clear that Parton approves of it.
