Dolly Parton Worried Another Artist Would Snatch 1 of Her Signature Songs Away From Her
One of Dolly Parton’s favorite songs she’s ever written is “Coat of Many Colors.” The song is deeply personal, drawing on a real experience from her childhood. It reminds her so strongly of her mother that she couldn’t get through it after her death. Parton nearly lost the chance to record it, though. After she wrote the song, she grew concerned that another artist would take it from her.
Another artist could have recorded one of Dolly Parton’s songs before she did
In 1971, Parton released the song “Coat of Many Colors.” It has long been one of her favorite things she’s ever written.
“My very favorite song from a very personal level is ‘The Coat of Many Colors,’” Parton said on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. “It’s kind of a signature song of mine, and it’s more than just about the little coat.”
She wrote the song long before she released it, though. While she performed it live, her label wasn’t sure that they wanted her to record it.
“‘Coat Of Many Colors’ became an established audience favourite at this time even though Dolly had yet to record it,” wrote Stephen Miller in the book Smart Blonde. “Porter recorded two versions of the song in 1969 and there was concern that another artist might pick up on it and have a hit. Dolly eventually recorded it although for some reason RCA delayed its release.”
Eventually, other artists, such as Shania Twain and Emmylou Harris, covered the song, but it remains Parton’s.
Dolly Parton shared the backstory behind the song
The prospect of another artist releasing the song before her was concerning because of how personal Parton finds “Coat of Many Colors.” She wrote it about a real childhood experience. Parton’s mother made her a coat out of scraps of different colored fabrics.
“In order to make me proud of that little coat, I know now, she told me the story about Joseph from the Bible and his coat of many colors,” she wrote in the book Dolly Parton, Songteller. “So I thought, ‘Well, if it’s from the Bible, and Joseph was an important person, it has to be very special and important.’”
The other children at school were not as fond of it.
“They just made fun of my little coat. I had seen so much more in that coat than what Mama had sewn, things sewn into my body, my soul, my everything,” she wrote. “Mama had made it and told the story and made it all seem so real. It was so mind-warping and heart-shattering to me when they made fun of it. In my mind, I thought I looked just like Joseph. But the kids didn’t, and it crushed me.”
She feels that the embarrassment was worth it
While Parton found the experience deeply hurtful at the time, she now feels that it was worth it. The painful experience enabled her to write a poignant song.
“At the time, I thought, ‘Why is this happening?’” she wrote. “Now I know it was so I could write that song. It really is true that ‘God works in strange and mysterious ways His wonders to perform.’ You never know when you’re going through things what is actually going to turn out to be a blessing. So it’s worth the suffering.”
