Jolene
Song by Dolly PartonWikipedia
3.9k
MENTIONS
1k
EPISODES
812
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Search complete. 3899 mentions across 1027 episodes found for "Jolene".
Sep 11, 2026
OliviaHOST
And it was hard on your body, but she told incredible stories.
OliviaHOST
And I think that obviously would have affected her songwriting because she is such a great storyteller I think that's probably another reason why librarians like her so much because her songs tell intricate stories what about Jolene why do you think Jolene so I think it's her most covered song I just want to
CassandraGUEST
share I love Jolene so good so obviously I know that song but my kids have had such a strong reaction to her passing almost as if she's their grandmother and I've been trying to figure it out because Because I don't, you know, we're not like a country music family.
CassandraGUEST
I think we traveled to Dollywood two times in like the last five years.
CassandraGUEST
So maybe, you know, she's everywhere in Dollywood and she's just this like motherly, comforting person.
CassandraGUEST
figure they really like identified with that and so we've been listening to Jolene together and the boys we watched a clip of her singing it in the 70s and they were just so struck by how young she was and the fact that she was playing a guitar because You know, a lot of little kids don't see a lot of women playing the music, especially pop stars this day.
CassandraGUEST
They were so impressed by that.
CassandraGUEST
But it did start bringing up some uncomfortable conversations that my middle son was like, why is she so worried about her man? Where's a man going? Yeah.
Cathy GordonHOST
Wow
Carol HughesHOST
... once, she said that she did not know for sure, but she thinks that she might've written Jolene and I Will Always Love You the same day.
Carol HughesHOST
And if it wasn't the same day-
Cathy GordonHOST
Wow
Lev FerHOST
... just up there, uh, gets- strums one guitar chord.
Lev FerHOST
Jolene.
Colum TyrrellHOST
Oh, oh, mama.
Colum TyrrellHOST
I don't even know it.
Lev FerHOST
You did.
Colum TyrrellHOST
What does she have? Jolene, Nine to Five.
Colum TyrrellHOST
It's kind of it.
Lev FerHOST
Uh, I Will Always Love You.
Steve SpearsHOST
Yeah.
Annie ZaleskiGUEST
The ones that, like, obviously you're gonna have Jolene, I Will Always Love You, 9 to 5.
Annie ZaleskiGUEST
You know, the ones that she is absolutely known for.
Dolly PartonSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
Dolly PartonSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
I'm begging of you, please don't take my man.
Annie ZaleskiGUEST
And then what I also, and then obviously, and I also looked at her country number one hits, 'cause she had so many of them.
Annie ZaleskiGUEST
And, you know, we were, we had a little bit more of an awareness of yes, this is a complete artist.
Annie ZaleskiGUEST
And so I think for the fact that she hasn't been on the road, people kind of forgot about that.
Declan KruegerPANELIST
My f- my...
Declan KruegerPANELIST
Like, the most popular one I play would probably be Jolene by Dolly Parton just because-
Allan MitchellHOST
Yeah
Declan KruegerPANELIST
... it's guaranteed to be in there every Tuesday pretty much.
Dolly PartonSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
And a songbird on a fence post sings a melody.
Justin GausmanHOST
I did think it was kind of interesting, in the aftermath of people, you know, like, of her passing and people writing about her, like, a lot of people know some of the big hits, like I Will Always Love You and Jolene and Coat of Many Colors, but how many people really buy and listen and talk about Dolly's albums, you know? And, like-
John Michael HeathGUEST
Right
Justin GausmanHOST
... first off, she was, like, a very consistent recording artist for her, her entire life Like, almost without fail, like every other year she had a record out with a whole bunch of new songs, most of which she wrote or co-wrote.
Dolly PartonSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Bless her heart.
Dolly PartonSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
[laughs] It's just a hair of a different color, but it hurts just the same.
Justin GausmanHOST
[singing] Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
Dolly PartonSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
[singing] Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
Andrew UnterbergerHOST
Staff lists, not charts-based lists, but, like, we did votes, and Melinda, our country head, put these lists together.
Andrew UnterbergerHOST
Our number one artist was Dolly Parton, and our number one song was Jolene.
Danielle PascualGUEST
Well, yes.
Andrew UnterbergerHOST
So that's just, that's just what it is.
Eric FrankenbergGUEST
Because yes, she's been an icon and a legend forever, but yet had been in, like, maybe the late 2010s that everyone kind of came to-
Danielle PascualGUEST
Mm-hmm
Eric FrankenbergGUEST
... and remembered that, and streams picked up for Jolene and for 9 to 5.
Andrew UnterbergerHOST
Right
speaker_1SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Oh, yeah.
speaker_1SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
I'm your only friend.
speaker_1SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
I'm not your only friend.
speaker_1SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
But I'm a little blind friend.
speaker_1SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
But really, I'm not actually your friend.
speaker_1SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
But I am.
speaker_1SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
See you next time.
speaker_1SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
We'll watch you there for you.
JohnHOST
Now, here's where we get into, again, it's not just that she's a musician, but her music is like top tier transcending the genre of country.
JohnHOST
Jolene.
JohnHOST
Jolene.
MoHOST
Great song.
JohnHOST
I Will Always Love You.
11 MINS LATER
JohnHOST
Today, it sends more than 3 million books every month.
JohnHOST
For Gen Xers, like us specifically, this arrived just as our generation was becoming parents.
JohnHOST
So a lot of Gen Xers know Dolly not from 9 to 5 or Jolene, but because her books showed up in their children's mailboxes, encouraging them to read.
CherieHOST
I mean, I've heard Whitney Houston's version, obviously, but it is hard for me to hear anyone but Dolly singing I Will Always Love You.
CherieHOST
She wrote that song on the same day that she wrote Jolene, right? I know.
CherieHOST
What a day that was.
CherieHOST
I
MichelleHOST
mean, most artists never come close to having hits like Jolene and I Will Always Love You.
MichelleHOST
And she wrote them both on the same day.
MichelleHOST
I mean, that would make most people's careers impossible.
MichelleHOST
Just a typical
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