Jolene

Dear Dolly Parton,

You have no real reason to read this, and I don’texpect a letter back. But if you do
happen to pick this letter out of the hundreds youmust receive every day and have the time to
respond, I would be honored beyond words.
I’m going to tell you about a personal issue I hadthat I thought you might understand, or
be able to give me confirmation about. Though youdon’t have to do either.
According to Lyricfinder.com, you were the sole songwriterof “Jolene”. When you were
writing it, did any part of it feel like a lie toyou? Or rather, were you lying? You say, “You could
have your choice of men/ But I could never love again/He’s the only one for me, Jolene.” Did
any of that feel overeager to you? I don’t want toinsinuate you were compensating for anything,
but that maybe you felt one way and expressed yourselfas feeling so far in the other direction to
have made it obvious to listeners that what you weresinging was not, in fact, what you meant.
In an interview with NPR in 2008, you revealed thesong is based on a bank clerk who
flirted with your husband when you were newly married,and that the appearance and name of
Jolene are from a fan who came on stage to get yourautograph. I’m trying to figure out why you
combined those two women to make a monolithic, all-encompassingJolene. The bank clerk is
understandable because she stood as a threat to yourmarriage, but what of the young fan? Surely
she did not threaten your marriage in any way by comingon stage. The only threat she brought
was being so enamored with you that she would breakrules just to be close to you. There are no
other details to indicate whether or not she was draggedoff stage by security guards, but one