Dolly Parton, Beyoncé.Photo:Miller Mobley/NBC via Getty; Mason Poole/Parkwood Media/Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal
Miller Mobley/NBC via Getty; Mason Poole/Parkwood Media/Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal
After weeks ofplaying coy about her knowledgeof Beyoncé’sCowboy Carter,Dolly Partonsurprised fans with a cheeky guest appearance on the star’s new country album.
The country legend, 78, appears on an interlude called “Dolly P,” in which she speaks on what sounds like a voicemail about “that hussy with the good hair” Beyoncé, 42, famously sang about on her 2016Lemonadetrack “Sorry.”
“Hey, miss Honey Bey. It’s Dolly P. You know that hussy with the good hair you sang about?” she says on the track. “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.”
The interlude leads intoBeyoncé’s cover of “Jolene,”the 1973 classic Parton wrote about a red-haired bank clerk in Nashville putting the moves on herhusband Carl Deanwhile she was touring.
Beyoncé’s version, though, is a reimagined version of the song with new lyrics; instead of pleading with Jolene to lay off, the Grammy winner warns the “desperate” Jolene not to mess with her, as her attempts at seduction will be futile.
“I’m warnin’ you, woman, find you your own man,” she sings on the chorus. “Jolene, I know I’m a queen, Jolene. I’m still a Creole banjee bitch from Louisianne (Don’t try me).”
Beyoncé — who has beenmarried to JAY-Z since 2008— later tells Jolene that she has the full support of her man, with whom she’s “been deep in love for 20 years.”
The star’s cover of “Jolene” has been a dream of Parton’s for many years. In 2022, she told Trevor Noah onThe Daily Showshe thought Beyoncé’s take on the track would be “killer.”
“I think she’s fantastic and beautiful and I love her music,” Parton said. “I would just love to hear ‘Jolene’ done in just a big way, kind of howWhitney [Houston]did my ‘I Will Always Love You.’ Just someone that can take my little songs and make them like, powerhouses. So that would be a marvelous day in my life if she ever does do ‘Jolene.’”
“But nobody’s ever had a really big hit record on it,” Parton continued. “I’ve always hoped somebody might do someday, someone like Beyoncé.”
Weeks beforeCowboy Carter’s release, Parton teased the “Jolene” cover, tellingKnox Newsthat she’d “heard” Beyoncé may have recorded it.
“Well, I think she has! I think she’s recorded ‘Jolene’ and I think it’s probably gonna be on her country album, which I’m very excited about that.”
Last month, when Beyoncé became the first Black woman to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart with “Texas Hold ‘Em,”Parton congratulated the staron Instagram.
“I’m a big fan of Beyoncé and very excited that she’s done a country album. So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single,” she wrote. “Can’t wait to hear the full album!”
As of Friday, Parton finally did, posting on social media, “Wow, I just heard Jolene. Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it!”
Willie NelsonandMiley Cyrusalso appear on the new record, as doesLinda Martell, the first Black woman to play the Grand Ole Opry.
source: people.com
