The Little-Known Person Behind “Jolene” by Dolly Parton

The girl threatening Dolly Parton’s relationship in “Jolene” drew inspiration from a much less intimidating source. But most know the name by Parton’s desperate plea to the titular character:

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,
I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,
Please don’t take him just because you can.

And Parton goes on to describe the girl’s beauty in vivid detail:

Your beauty is beyond compare,
With flaming locks of auburn hair,
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green.
Your smile is like a breath of spring,
Your voice is soft like summer rain,
And I cannot compete with you, Jolene.

But she’s not bitter. Parton seeks empathy from Jolene. I know you can, but please, don’t, she implores.

However, the Jolene in “Jolene” was inspired by a young fan from her early days on a 1960s country-music television show. While on stage, Parton spotted an 8-year-old girl who waited patiently for an autograph.

She told NPR, “And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph. I said, ‘Well, you’re the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?’ And she said, ‘Jolene.’ And I said, ‘Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. Jolene.’ I said, ‘That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that.’”

The Flirty Bank Teller

Though the young fan may have provided the hair, the skin, and the eyes for Parton’s character, another woman—a redhead too—inspired the threat.

Parton noticed her husband, Carl Dean, had been spending a lot of time at the bank. It seems a flirty bank teller had his attention. So she teased Dean about it and the running joke led to one of Parton’s defining songs.

She released “Jolene” in 1973, and the song topped the Country chart. Although it only peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Jolene” remains a standard, and everyone from Jack White to Beyoncé has sung that little girl’s name.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns