Dolly Parton Says She’s Only Written Three Good Songs
When it comes to Dolly Parton’s original songs, this artist has over 3000 tracks under her bedazzled belt. With such a love for “the joy of writing,” the Queen of Country shared that she thinks she only has three “good” songs.
Dolly Parton is the mastermind behind several original songs
Some know her for “Jolene,” while others know her for “Here You Come Again.” Parton has been writing and releasing music for several decades, solidifying her place in country music history. As a songwriter, this artist explained that inspiration comes from various sources.
“Sometimes I’ll be writin’ a song, and I’ll be cookin’, or I’ll be doin’ this or that, and I’ll just be thinkin’ while I’m doin’ it and I just write when I think of a good line,” Parton said as noted in the book Dolly on Dolly. “I just think before I write it down.”
With several years of musical experience, Parton is used to writing songs relatively quickly.
“Now, I can write a song in fifteen minutes and complete it,” Parton said during a 1967 interview with Music City News. “But then I start sayin’ it back over, and everything, and I’ll hear a lot of things I don’t think would be good in there. So I go back and change lines and ideas.”
Parton even created several original Christmas songs and an album based on the novel Run, Rose, Run.
Dolly Parton thinks she’s only written three ‘good’ songs
Even with several Grammy Awards and millions of Spotify streams, Parton doesn’t think that every song she’s written is a hit. She shared that with thousands of original songs, this artist only considers three of her original songs to be “good.”
“I take myself more serious as a songwriter than anything else,” Parton said during an interview with CNBC. “I always say I’ve written about 3,000 songs and three good ones, but I just love the joy of writing.”
What are Dolly Parton’s favorite three original songs?
As the Queen of Country, several of Parton’s songs earned awards and international recognition. During an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the artist named her top three favorite original songs. (“Jolene” and “9 to 5” didn’t make the cut.)
“My very favorite song from a personal level is ‘The Coat of Many Colors,’” Parton said. “It’s kind of a signature song of mine. It’s more than just about a little coat. It’s about acceptance, and it’s about tolerance. It even speaks to bullying, kind of how the kids made fun of me at school.”
As a song that she can sing both “little” or “big,” Parton named “I Will Always Love You” as her second favorite original song. Another song she mentioned was “Down From Dover,” one of her lesser-known tracks that became a favorite of Parton and some fans.
One of the reasons she likes this track is because it tells a story — detailing the experience of someone who becomes pregnant and leaves home.
