According to Parton, the song was inspired by a red-headed bank clerk who flirted with her husband, Carl Dean, at his local bank branch around the time they were newly married. In an interview, she also revealed that Jolene's name and appearance are based on that of a young fan who came on stage for her autograph.[3][4]
The guitar parts on the recording were performed by
Chip Young[5] and
Wayne Moss.[6] Young played the primary thumb-picked part with Moss playing the complementary steel-string part that enters on the second refrain. Young got the fingerpicking pattern from a similar pattern played by
Joe South. [7]
The song tells of the narrator confronting Jolene, a stunningly beautiful woman, who she worries will steal away her lover/husband. Throughout the song, the narrator implores Jolene "please don't take him just because you can." The song is unclear about whether or not Jolene intends to steal the narrator's lover, an ambiguity that has been addressed in several
answer songs.[10][11][12][13] Onstage in 1988, Parton told the audience that "Jolene" was a true story and the reason she did not like to sing it too often.[14]
In 2019, the podcast Dolly Parton's America had an episode addressing the question of whether the narrator's focus on Jolene's beauty and desirability is indicative of her own attraction to Jolene. A musicologist wrote and performed a fourth verse which makes this interpretation explicit; when the podcast's hosts played audio of this performance for Parton, she responded that this was "another take on it".[15]
Release
The song became Parton's second solo number-one single on the country charts after being released as a single in October 1973 (prior to the album's release). It reached the top position in February 1974; it was also a moderate pop hit for her and a minor adult contemporary chart entry. As of December 2019[update], the song had sold 935,000 digital copies in the US since it became available for digital download.[16]
The song was released as a single later in the UK, and became Parton's first top ten hit song in the country, reaching number seven in the
UK Singles Chart in 1976.[17] The song also re-entered the chart when Parton performed at the
Glastonbury festival in 2014. The song has sold 255,300 digital copies in the UK as of January 2017.[17]
Legacy
The song is considered by music critics to be one of the most expressive songs in the country genre.[18][19] In 2014 Rolling Stone ranked the song 9th on their 2014 list "100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time".[20] The song was also ranked No. 217 on Rolling Stone's list of "
the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and No. 63 on their revised list in 2021.[21]Genius placed the song at 38th on their list of "The 100 Best Country Songs Of All Time Lyrics".[22]Time includes the song on their 2011 list of the "All-TIME 100 Best Songs".[23]
Time Out ranked the songs at the second place on their list "The 35 best country songs of all time".[24]Parade placed the song second on their list of the "101 Best Country Songs of All Time".[25]The Tennessean includes the song on their 2019 list of the "The 100 best country songs of all time", writing that it "crosses genre and generations, a once-in-a-world song without boundaries".[26]NME also includes the song on their 2018 list of the "The 25 Best Country Music Songs of All Time".[27]
In the film The Intervention (
Clea Duvall; 2016), Annie (
Melanie Lynskey) tells Lola (
Alia Shawkat), "Nobody likes a Jolene," after the younger woman stirs up trouble among a group of older couples by making a play for several individuals among them.
The song's international popularity became apparent during the
COVID-19 pandemic when the
New Zealand government put the country in lockdown. A newspaper summary of "essential things to know" explained that washing one's hands with soap should take "as long as it takes to sing the Happy Birthday song twice or the chorus of Dolly Parton's hit song Jolene."[28] According to Parton, "Jolene" is her most frequently covered song.[3]
In 1976,
Olivia Newton-John recorded a version and released it as the second and final single from her seventh studio album, Come On Over, in selected countries.[51] In Japan, the song peaked at number 11 on the
Oricon Singles Chart.
The single was released in Australia in early 1978, peaking at number 29.
The song was a part of the 1982, 40-city Physical Tour set list, then became a popular concert event on HBO in 1983.
In 2022, the song was included on the reissue of Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits, her first
greatest hits album.
"Jolene (Live
Under Blackpool Lights)" was released as a live single by American
garage rock band
the White Stripes on November 15, 2004.[56] The single reached No. 16 on the
UK Singles Chart and also reached No. 12 in Norway and No. 28 in
Flanders. The White Stripes previously released a studio version of "Jolene", as the B-side to their 2000 single of "
Hello Operator", from the album De Stijl. In Australia, the song was ranked No. 10 on
Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004. Another live performance of the song is featured on the 2010 live album Under Great White Northern Lights. The White Stripes' version was voted one of the greatest live covers by readers of Rolling Stone magazine.[57]
Track listing
"Jolene (Live Under Blackpool Lights)"
"Black Math (Live Under Blackpool Lights)" (only on CD version)
"Do (Live Under Blackpool Lights)" (only on vinyl flip side)
American singer
Beyoncé recorded a cover of "Jolene", with significant lyrical changes, and included it on her eighth studio album Cowboy Carter, released on March 29, 2024.[73][74]
Background and release
On March 11, 2024 in a interview with
Knox News Dolly Parton revealed that Beyoncé asked to record a cover of the song.[75][76] After the song's release, Parton praised the cover, writing that "I just heard 'Jolene'. Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it".[77][78]
Lyrics and production changes
The cover of the song features changes in the lyrics and production of the song.[79][80][81] Nevertheless, all songwriting credits were given to Parton.[82] On Beyoncé’s version the bridge has additional melodies and includes a choir of voices backing up the singer.[83] Lauren Boisvert of
American Songwriter pointed out that although the melody is the same in both the songs, Parton's one is "twangy on the guitar" while Beyoncé's cover "employs a smoother guitar sound backed by a pulsing beat to tie the song into her pop/R&B roots".[84]
Lyrically the cover changes the significance attributed to the role of Jolene and the interlocutor who speaks to her.[85][86] Critics pointed out that while in Parton's version the singer is begging Jolene not to take her man, Beyoncé is warning Jolene not to attempt the same in hers.[87][88] Other critics referred to the re-written lyrics as addressing
Jay-Z's infidelity. In the track preceding "Jolene" on the album, titled "Dolly P", sees Parton introducing the cover, saying "you know, that hussy with the good hair you sang about reminded me of someone I knew back when; ... Except she has flaming locks of auburn hair. Bless her heart. Just a hair of a different color, but it hurts just the same." referring to a girl called "Becky with the good hair" on Beyoncé's
Lemonade song "
Sorry".[89][90][91]
Commercial performances
In the United States the cover debuted at number 7 on the
Billboard Hot 100, becoming the version of "Jolene" with the highest placement on the chart.[92][93] It scored Beyoncé's 24th top-ten on the Hot 100 and Cowboy Carter's third top-ten, charting simultaneously with "
Texas Hold 'Em" and "
II Most Wanted".[94][95] The three songs also occupied the top three positions on the
Hot Country Songs, with "Jolene" at third, making Beyoncé the first female artist to achieve it.[96]
In Australia the cover peaked at number 24 on the
ARIA Singles Chart after its first week of sale, becoming the highest position reached by the song on the chart.[97] "Jolene" debuted at number 8 on the
UK Singles Chart on 5 April 2024, one of three songs from Cowboy Carter in the top ten that week.[98]
English rock band
The Sisters Of Mercy started performing the song live in 1983. They also recorded a studio version of the song for
BBC Radio in 1983. That version was eventually released in 2021 on the album BBC Sessions 1982-1984.
Alternative rock band
Queenadreena released a cover of "Jolene" as a double A-side with "Pretty Polly" in 2000, peaking at no. 100 on the
UK Singles Chart.[123][124]
In 2024,
Måneskin recorded a duet with Parton for the deluxe version of her forty-ninth album Rockstar.[130]
Answer songs
Kirsty MacColl's 1995 song "
Caroline" was inspired by "Jolene" and is told from the other woman's point of view.[10]
In 2013, country singer
Jennifer Nettles recorded "
That Girl", which she stated in interviews is a lyrical counterpoint to "Jolene".[11][12] The song is written from the perspective of the Jolene character, who Nettles feels is unfairly maligned in the original song. In this version, the other woman is shown to have no interest in taking another woman's man, and her song is in fact framed as a warning to Parton's character that "her man" has a roving eye.
In 2017, American singer-songwriter
Cam released her single "
Diane" in response to Parton's song. The song is sung from Jolene's point of view, where she sings to 'Diane', Parton's character, and states that she did not know that 'her man' was her man. Cam noted to Rolling Stone Country that the song is her "response to Dolly Parton's 'Jolene.' It's the apology so many spouses deserve, but never get. The other woman is coming forward to break the news to the wife about an affair, respecting her enough to have that hard conversation, once she realized he was married. Because everyone should be able to decide their own path in life, based on the truth. Women especially should do this for each other, since our self-worth can still be so wrapped up in our partners. And in true country fashion, I've set the whole raw story to upbeat music, so you can dance while you process it all."[13]
During the 2020
COVID-19 pandemic, linguist
Gretchen McCulloch wrote a parody of the song entitled "Vaccine", inspired by Parton's $1 million donation funding research on a coronavirus vaccine. The parody was sung by English professor Ryan Cordell, and the video went viral.[131] Dolly Parton broke into parody herself, singing "Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I'm begging of you please don't hesitate" as she got a 'dose of her own medicine' in a March 2021 vaccination.[132]
Chapel Hart released an answer song in 2021 titled "
You Can Have Him Jolene".[133]Okay Kaya released "Jolene From Her Own Perspective" in September 2022 as a single off her album SAP. She described it as "'Jolene' as a
queer anthem" and jokingly as a "love note from a depraved
bisexual".[134]