Dolly Parton has said it was “bold” for Beyoncé to change the lyrics to “Jolene” without telling her.
For her latest album, the country music-inspired Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé recorded a cover of Parton’s popular 1973 song, which saw her put her own spin on the popular track.
While the album was largely praised, many listeners, and some critics, were not won over by the cover, whose quality sparked a debate on social media.
The song is a big departure from Parton’s version, with the lyrics, “I’m begging of you please don’t take my man”, changed to: “I’m warning you, don’t come for my man,”.
In a surprising revelation, it’s now been revealed that Parton was not briefed on the changes before the album was released – and came as a shock to her when she first listened to it.
This development comes as even more of a surprise considering Beyoncé enlisted Parton to introduce the track on the record.
Speaking to E! News, Parton said: “When they said she was gonna do Jolene, I expected it to be my regular one, but it wasn’t.”
Parton described the move as “bold”, stating: “But I love what she did to it. And as a songwriter, you love the fact that people do your songs no matter how they do them.”
For the intro, Parton can be heard saying: “Hey, miss Honey Bey. It’s Dolly P. 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 colour, but it hurts just the same.”
Beyoncé famously sent a warning shot to “Becky with the good hair” on her song “Sorry”, which featured on her 2016 album Lemonade.
The song was widely interpreted to be about a woman Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z, was rumoured to have had an affair with, as she sings: “Today I regret the night I put that ring on.”
“He only want me when I’m not there/ He better call Becky with the good hair,” she concludes.
