Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” is one of the most iconic Country songs of all time, and it’s precisely the deviations that Dolly makes from her genre that have catapulted the track to legendary status. Sonically, the track sounds like standard country fare, albeit with a catchy acoustic groove. Dolly’s lyricism and her storytelling ability set “Jolene” apart from the rest. The song is about Dolly’s fear that her man may be in love with someone else, a woman named Jolene. However, instead of lamenting her anxieties to her audience or begging her man not to leave her, Dolly chooses to address the song directly to Jolene. Even something as fundamental as this makes a big impact, songs written by women directed at another woman are rare in the Country genre.
In “Jolene,” Dolly feels insecure. She feels that Jolene is far more beautiful than she is and that she could easily whisk her man away from her. The song begs Jolene to “please don’t take him just because you can.” However, many have argued that “Jolene” carries distinct queer undertones. For one, Dolly doesn’t mention many of her man’s good qualities but rather waxes poetically about Jolene. “Your beauty is beyond compare / with flaming locks of auburn hair / with ivory skin and eyes of emerald green.” One could easily make the case that it is Dolly, not her man, who is infatuated with Jolene and is sublimating this attraction as jealousy and fear. “Jolene” also does what not many other Country songs do, and that is portray powerful femininity. Jolene has the power in this situation, and Dolly realizes it. Perhaps this combination of queer undertones and powerful women has kept “Jolene” as a favorite among Dolly’s queer fans (of which there are many).