Dolly Parton's Jolene

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Lydia R. Hamessley (John and Anne Fischer Professor in the Fine Arts, John and Anne Fischer Professor in the Fine Arts, Music Department, Hamilton College)

Dolly Parton's Jolene

Lydia R. Hamessley (John and Anne Fischer Professor in the Fine Arts, John and Anne Fischer Professor in the Fine Arts, Music Department, Hamilton College)

$183.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Oxford University Press Inc
18 July 2025

Theory of music & musicology; Music reviews & criticism; Country & Western music; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups; Techniques of music & music tutorials

Series: Oxford Keynotes

""Jolene"" is one of Dolly Parton's most well-known and beloved songs. Released in 1974 as the title song of Dolly's thirteenth studio album, it has become a cultural phenomenon. Often seen as a cheating song, ""Jolene"" is compelling because of its ambiguity: Who is Jolene? Is she a heartless homewrecker or an unwilling recipient of attention from a guy who will cheat on his partner? What does she decide? Does she want to have an affair? Is ""Jolene"" sung by a narrator who is fearful and weak? Or is the singer taking matters into her own hands?

In Dolly Parton's Jolene, author Lydia R. Hamessley offers readers new perspectives on the song through a close look at Dolly's stories about the song's origins and its place on her album Jolene. Hamessley offers multiple ways of understanding the lyrics and includes a detailed musical analysis. The book explores notable covers of the song, including Olivia Newton-John's recording of ""Jolene"" and the duet version of ""Jolene"" that she and Dolly recorded just months before Newton-John's death. Hamessley also looks at covers by Mindy Smith, The White Stripes, The Congo Cowboys, Lil Nas X, Gloria Ann Taylor, and Chiquis and Becky G, as well as the ""Jolene"" episode from Dolly's 2019 television series, Heartstrings, and several answer songs, including ""You Can Have Him Jolene"" by Chapel Hart. How has one song had the flexibility to embrace so many versions, responses, and reimagining? Hamessley argues that these are possible because the song is, in a sense, unfinished: ""my happiness depends on you and whatever you decide to do, Jolene.""

By: Lydia R. Hamessley (John and Anne Fischer Professor in the Fine Arts John and Anne Fischer Professor in the Fine Arts Music Department Hamilton College)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 17mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 210mm
Weight: 300g
ISBN: 9780197760307
ISBN 10: 0197760309
Series: Oxford Keynotes
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 18 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Lydia R. Hamessley is the John and Anne Fischer Professor in the Fine Arts in Music at Hamilton College (Clinton, NY) where she teaches courses in country music, medieval and Renaissance music, music in film, and world music. She received her Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Minnesota in 1989 and has won two teaching awards at Hamilton. She writes on old-time and bluegrass music, with an emphasis on women and Southern Appalachia. She is the author of Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton (2020), and she appeared in the BBC2 documentary Dolly Parton: Here I Am. She is also a clawhammer banjo player.