Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I’m begging of you please don’t take my man
JoleneDolly Parton (1973)
Carl Dean doesn’t like glamour, unlike his Dolly – the singer and movie star Dolly Parton. As a retired entrepreneur in the asphalt business, he prefers to sit on the couch in their mansion in Brentwood, near country capital Nashville.
Dolly (1946) takes her Carl (1942) as he is, and for decades. The one time he – we are talking in the late sixties – went to a gala dinner, he already dropped out on the red carpet. “I’ll give you everything, Dolly,” he said, “and I’m very happy for you, but don’t ever ask me to go to such a thing again.”
So she never asked him again. The differences in the marriage are there to be cherished, Dolly said. Although they sometimes fought each other out, Carl remains her anchor. She may be a flirt, and in for a joke every now and then, but there’s only one man, and he’s at home on the couch.
So don’t touch her Carl, and if anyone does make any advances, a song is soon written about it. Such as Jolene (1973), inspired by a red-haired bank employee who thought he should hook up with him.
The song is about a woman she can’t compete with, with her ivory skin, enchanting eyes and a voice like soft summer rain. She can only beg: don’t take my husband away from me. Jolene was a great success, just like by the way their relationship, already 58 years†
For Carl Dean, the country fairy tale began in 1964 when he drove his Chevy pickup truck through Nashville and reached the Wishy Washy Laundromat saw a beautiful, immaculately groomed blonde, with gorgeous wavy hair. He turned around with his car – and two years later they were married.
Born into poverty in a village in the Smokey Mountains, Dolly Parton was determined to return alone as a famous artist. About that miserable time she wrote the beautiful A Coat of Many Colors† about the coat she had as a child, made of rags in different colors. This jacket is on display at the Dollywood Theme Park Museum in Tennessee.
During the corona pandemic, Jolene put in a new jacket as Vaccine, a pro-vaccination anthem. Parton had donated $1 million for research into a drug against Covid. When she received the second vaccine in the spring of 2021, to which she had contributed financially, she sang for the camera Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine / I’m begging of you, please don’t hesitate / Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine / Because once you’re dead, then that’s a bit too late†
It is known about her Carl that he has had health problems for some time, not corona-related by the way. To cheer him up, the 75-year-old diva had herself photographed in a Playboy Bunny suit at the end of last year, just like she had done in 1978.
“My husband has not been feeling well for a while and I will do everything I can to make him feel better,” she said. “He’s always found me beautiful.”