Dolly Parton was surprised Beyoncé changed lyrics for ‘Jolene’ cover

Dolly Parton has revealed she was surprised that Beyoncé’s cover of her seminal song ‘Jolene’ featured different lyrics.

In an interview with E! News, Parton said “it was very bold” of Beyoncé to give her 1973 song a new spin on her latest album ‘Cowboy Carter’. “When they said she was gonna do ‘Jolene,’ I expected it to be my regular one, but it wasn’t,” Parton said.

“But I love what she did to it. And as a songwriter, you love the fact that people do your songs no matter how they do them.”

She expressed her admiration for Beyoncé’s reworked lyrics: “She wasn’t gonna go beg some other woman like I did. ‘Don’t steal my man.’ ‘Shit, get out here, bitch. You ain’t stealin’ mine.’” Watch the interview clip below.

Parton added that she thought Beyoncé “did a great job in country music”, and she was “happy” she did ‘Jolene’. “I, of course, would have loved to have heard how she would have done it in its original way. But of course, you know, it’s Beyoncé,” she surmised. “Yeah, her life is different than mine.”

The country veteran guested on ‘Cowboy Carter’ track ‘Tyrant’, along with interlude ‘Dolly P’, which features a message recorded by Parton that leads into the ‘Jolene’ cover.

Parton also expressed enthusiasm to E! News about a possible collaborative performance with Beyoncé of ‘Jolene’ at the next Grammy Awards, should the album get nominated.

“Why of course I would—if I’m available, if I’m not caught up in something I cannot get out of, yeah, that’d be wonderful,” Dolly noted. “I mean, who wouldn’t wanna sing ‘Jolene’ with Beyoncé?”

Last week, Parton announced her upcoming 50th studio album, titled ‘Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA – Family, Faith & Fables’.

The record will see her including songs performed by various members of Dolly’s immediate & extended family, spanning generations, along with voice recordings of relatives who have since passed on.

The album will be accompanied by a four-part docuseries where she traces her family’s lineage – from the United Kingdom in the 1600s to their home today in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.