Dolly Parton Talks About Her Inspiration For Her Song "Jolene" With Jimmy Fallon

Nov 29, 2019 by apost team

Dolly Parton partnered with Netflix to create a new television series based on some of her most well-known songs.

The first episode of the show, called “Heartstrings,” is centered around her hit song "Jolene." The show uses a combination of narrative and reenactment to portray what inspired Dolly when she was creating her music throughout the years.

Dolly told NPR back in 2008 that she first fell in love with the name Jolene after meeting a young fan when she was working on the long-running variety program which ultimately led to Dolly becoming a breakout star, “The Porter Wagoner Show.” She says she looked out into the audience and saw a beautiful red-headed 8-year-old girl asking for her autograph. Dolly asked the young girl her name, and said that she knew as soon as she replied Jolene that she would write a song using that name someday.

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Of course, considering that the lyrics of "Jolene" recount the story of a woman begging a red-headed vixen not to steal her man, clearly young Jolene did not inspire the classic song alone. Parton told Jimmy Fallon earlier this year that the topical inspiration for the song came from a red-headed bank teller who seemed to be quite infatuated with her husband Carl Dean.

She said that as a result of the bank teller's obvious crush, she used to tease her husband that she felt he was going to the bank much more than the amount of money they had deposited there warranted, although she did not actually fear that the flirty teller would steal him away.

Although the inspiration for the song really isn't that dramatic, it has nevertheless sparked much admiration by many musicians over the years, with the song being covered almost 50 times. 

Most notably, the song was covered by her goddaughter Miley Cyrus in 2012, Olivia Newton-John in 1978, and the White Stripes in 2000. 

What do you think of "Jolene" now that you know the story behind it? Let us know in the comments - and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!