Dolly Parton's America

Episode 6: "The Only One For Me, Jolene"

Release Date: November 19, 2019
Host: Jad Abumrad
Producer: Shima Oliaee

Episode Overview

This episode explores why Dolly Parton’s song "Jolene" resonates so deeply across divides, delving into its emotional complexity and unique appeal. Host Jad Abumrad and producer Shima Oliaee embark on a cultural, musical, and personal analysis of the song—focusing especially on its status as a "third space" where multiple interpretations, experiences, and identities meet. Along the way, they interview country music scholars, queer musicians, and even take a new "fourth verse" to Dolly Parton herself, reflecting on the song’s layers of meaning and its unexpected impact around the world.

Key Discussion Points

1. The Dollyverse: Who Comes to Dolly? (01:46)

• Dolly Parton's concerts bring together an incredibly diverse audience—"cowboy hats and boots, people in drag, church ladies, lesbians, little girls" (02:11).
• Jad describes Dolly’s shows as an “alternate reality” where unlikely groups stand “side by side...singing the same song” (02:19).
• Central question: How does Dolly create such inclusive spaces? And how much does the audience bring to that openness? (02:38)

2. Country Music, Representation, and Jolene’s Place in the Genre (03:11)

• Nadine Hubbs, a professor and musicologist, provides context on country music’s history—its "hillbilly music" roots, borrowed cowboy iconography, and shifting identity (03:26–03:59).
• Dolly's subversion of the “other woman” trope is introduced as a particularly unique aspect of "Jolene" (05:45).
• Hubbs points out that, unlike other “other woman” songs (e.g., Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City”), Dolly doesn't issue threats or insults but instead pleads and compliments Jolene (08:39).

3. Musical Analysis of "Jolene" (09:09)

• Hubbs highlights the song’s hypnotic guitar riff and notes it is written in Dorian mode, giving it an ancient, haunting feeling (09:24–10:18).
• Quote: “Instead of the normal minor scale, with Dorian mode you have...that little extra raising of the sixth note. It gives it a whole different vibe.” – Nadine Hubbs (10:16)

4. Lyrical Subversion and Homoerotic Readings (11:23)

• Dolly repeatedly addresses Jolene directly and admiringly:
  • “Your beauty is beyond compare with flaming locks of auburn hair...” (11:50)
  • Instead of vilifying, she flatters Jolene, creating an aura of fixation and unresolved tension.
• Hubbs imagines the singer and Jolene growing closer or “a three-way” (13:42), interpreting the lyrics as carrying homoerotic subtext.
• “Dolly has in this song a really novel, revolutionary approach to the other woman.” – Nadine Hubbs (14:21)

5. Writing a Fourth Verse: Embracing Hidden Desire (15:07)

• Hubbs writes and performs a fourth verse for "Jolene" where the narrator’s longing is openly for Jolene, not just the man.
  • “I'm glad I had that talk with you...Now you're the only one for me, Jolene.” (15:07–16:20)
• The hosts love it and send this new verse to Dolly herself.

6. Dolly's Response: Origins and Original Intent (20:25)

• Dolly hears the "queer" verse and laughs: “That’s another take on it...So she’s thinking the two women get together!” (20:41)
• Dolly shares the true origin: named after a little girl she met at a concert, inspired by playful jealousy over her husband’s bank teller crush—not written with homoerotic intent.
  • “You’re overthinking it. I just wrote it. It was just a natural feeling.” – Dolly Parton (21:24)
• Yet, she acknowledges that alternative interpretations are fun and totally valid.

7. The Third Space: Songs as Open Interpretation (24:30)

• Jad discusses the psychological concept of the "third": a relationship space created between two people, larger than its parts.
  • He suggests "Jolene" exists as a “musical version of a third space”—a container for diverse emotions, projections, and meanings (24:52).
• Dolly’s music often creates these open, interpretable spaces.

8. Queer Country: Justin Hiltner’s Story (25:40)

• Banjo player Justin Hiltner, the first openly gay man nominated for an International Bluegrass Music Association award (26:01), describes Dolly’s music as "choose your own adventure."
  • “She’s creating a choose your own adventure kind of musical experience.” – Justin Hiltner (26:43)
• He links Dolly’s “Wildflowers” and “Silver Dagger” to his coming-out experience in a conservative family, using music to survive and hope (27:17–31:38).
• Dolly's radical acceptance:
  • “If you can’t deal with it, I can’t deal with you not dealing with it...He made us all. And if we’re different, well, that’s fine. We’re still his.” – Dolly Parton (31:38)

9. A Universal Song: Jolene on Robben Island (33:44)

• Tokyo Sexwale, South African anti-apartheid activist and Mandela cellmate, recalls how Mandela played Dolly Parton’s music—including "Jolene"—over the prison loudspeakers (34:32–34:55).
  • “No human being cannot be affected by Jolene.” – Tokyo Sexwale (35:33)
• The song resonated with both jailers and jailed, each identifying with the loss and longing in the lyrics for their own reasons.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Jolene’s Lyrical Power:
  • “She repeats [Jolene’s] name again and again as if she’s fixated...She starts her lyric, I’m begging.” – Nadine Hubbs (11:23)
• On Song Subversion:
  • “Instead of hating this woman... she’s exalting her for all the reasons she’s able to take her man.” – Shima Oliaee (14:21)
• Dolly on Alternate Readings:
  • “Well, that would be, I guess if you were a lesbian, you might think that—but I was not thinking that at all when I wrote it. But that’s fun.” – Dolly Parton (21:46)
• World Impact:
  • “He [Mandela] loved Jolene…The Western Dolly. Dolly sang from the heart.” – Tokyo Sexwale (34:48)
• Embrace of Radical Difference:
  • “We are who we are. If you can’t deal with it, I can’t deal with you not dealing with it.” – Dolly Parton (31:38)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Diverse Audiences at Dolly’s Shows: 02:00–02:38
• Discussion of "Other Woman" Country Songs: 06:12–08:39
• Musical Analysis of "Jolene": 09:09–10:18
• Homoerotic Interpretation and Fourth Verse: 13:54–15:07
• Dolly’s Reaction to the Fourth Verse: 20:25–21:51
• "Third Space" Concept and Song Universality: 24:24–25:02
• Justin Hiltner’s Queer Country Story: 25:40–31:38
• "Jolene" at Robben Island Prison: 33:44–36:02

Episode Tone & Style

The tone is thoughtful, curious, and gently playful, mixing deep academic insights with personal narratives and Dolly’s own warmth and humor. The hosts blend analysis with storytelling, inviting listeners to embrace the ambiguity and openness in Dolly Parton’s work—her music as a vessel for countless, often-contradictory meanings.

Summary

In exploring "Jolene," this episode unravels how Dolly Parton’s music, and this song in particular, offers a remarkable sense of belonging and meaning to listeners from every walk of life. Whether as a tale of jealousy, longing, admiration, or liberation—whether sung in Appalachian living rooms, at drag shows, or in apartheid-era prisons—"Jolene" proves itself a true American folk song, a “third space” capable of making radically different listeners feel seen, heard, and united.