From Can’t Explain….
Dolly Parton, “Down From Dover” (1970)
I’m pretty sure I can trust that the Balloon Juice crowd knows the talents and values of Dolly Parton, so I’m going to skip the “better than you know” qualifications I ordinarily feel constrained to make at this point. Her target market audience may, I have a bad feeling, be the kind of people Matt Taibbi identified as constituents in the Tea Party base, riding around on Medicare-funded scooters and screeching about getting government out of healthcare, but never mind. She’s the real deal. This is probably my favorite by her, and certainly the genuine sense of sadness it evokes matches my own watching what went down in national politics this week, and worrying what comes next. Not that I’m trying to make an allegory out of it or anything.
Ethos: “Just Because I’m a Woman”
More stuff at Can’t Explain.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
Jolene
Omnes Omnibus
I’d never heard that one before. Great evocation of sadness. The lady can sing.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
I Always Will Love You
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
Linda Ronstadt, Dolly and the Sweetheart of the Rodeo
After the Goldrush
fasteddie9318
While I love the fact that anybody can say anything at this place and that repercussions are rare, it seems like every comments thread is becoming infested with weak-sauce trolls. I don’t have a proposed solution here, just an equally weak-sauce observation.
themanintheguyfawkesmask
You know who else was real. Townes Van Zandt.
trollhattan
Seconded on her talent and depth being lost on most, likely including a large proportion of her fans. I’d pit her in a debate against ANY constructivist/Randian re. the innate value and dignity of the working poor. A viewpoint one is literally never exposed to, these days.
Mike Goetz
We could really use some Zoloft in this place. Do we really need to be this po-faced all the time?
Omnes Omnibus
@fasteddie9318: I take it as a sign of desperation. IIRC the same thing happened during the ACA fight.
jl
Some things are unforgivable. So, Putrid Superannuated DougJ accuses me of not appreciating Dolly Parton?
DougJ is dead to me. I close the iron door!
Disgruntled Lurker
You know who else was real. Townes Van Zandt.
When keeping it real goes wrong.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@themanintheguyfawkesmask: The saddest shit ever
Better Than Waitin Around to Die
fasteddie9318
@Omnes Omnibus: What is there to be desperate about? The debt ceiling fight is over. Polls are bad for everybody, but the economy stinks so that’s good for the trolls. No election coming up. What’s got them all worked up?
Paul in KY
Used to like watching her on the Porter Wagoner show way back when.
Violet
My goodness I do love Dolly Parton. She just keeps turning out good music.
@Raven (formerly stuckinred):
I do love “Jolene.” A really great song. And someone will slaughter me for this, but I love her duets with Kenny Rogers. Guilty pleasures for me.
Also love Hard Candy Christmas from “Best Little Whorehose in Texas.”
Omnes Omnibus
@fasteddie9318: I think they shot their wad and got very little. They are suffering from some form of existential angst.
Violet
@themanintheguyfawkesmask:
One of the best songwriters ever.
themanintheguyfawkesmask
FYWP ate my sanitarium blues link.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@Violet: Kenny and Maryann had a big farm outside, she’s a native, and they did all kinds of fundraising for good causes back in the day.
Kenny with Michael, Magic, Bird at the event
drkrick
@Paul in KY: Oh yes. She said they had huge arguments about who got to wear the most sequins and use the most hairspray.
My favorite was he response when somebody asked her what she thought of dumb blonde jokes: “I don’t mind them. I know I’m not dumb and I’m sure as hell not really blonde.”
arguingwithsignposts
This should be the song of the week: Hard Times Come Again No More. Stephen Foster, plus YoYo Ma and James Taylor.
Citizen_X
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): Damn, that was tragic! Uncle Seymour was giving some real wisdom, about drinking and moderation, to the young Van Zandt. And which one of them lived to a ripe old age, Townes? Which one?
Again, damn.
ed drone
@arguingwithsignposts:
Hard times, hard times, and wuss a-comin’.
Hard Times through my old head keeps runnin’.
I’d cotch the man that wrote that song;
To shake him well would not be wrong.
I’d shake him up, I’d shake him down;
I’d shake him till ‘good times’ comes ’round!
— from a Minstrel Show soliloquy, circa 1860
Ed
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
Dolly went back to her roots with “The Grass is Blue” and killed Silver Dagger,
vtr
@Disgruntled Lurker: If Townes were still with us, he could write a great song called “I Got 98 Per Cent Of What I Wanted.”
becca
Gotta love the woman who attributed her weight loss to no longer eating “big wads of Velveeta”.
Omnes Omnibus
@themanintheguyfawkesmask: Cowboy Junkies doing TVZ live.
arguingwithsignposts
@ed drone:
Let us pause in life’s pleasures and count its many tears,
While we all sup sorrow with the poor;
There’s a song that will linger forever in our ears;
Oh Hard times come again no more.
Chorus:
Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,
Hard Times, hard times, come again no more
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door;
Oh hard times come again no more.
While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,
There are frail forms fainting at the door;
Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say
Oh hard times come again no more.
(Chorus)
There’s a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away,
With a worn heart whose better days are o’er:
Though her voice would be merry, ’tis sighing all the day,
Oh hard times come again no more.
(Chorus)
Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,
Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore
Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave
Oh hard times come again no more.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@Citizen_X: Have you seen the film? He lived for a year shopping only at the 7-11 down the street. I guess people like him and Zevon have that Blue Fire of brilliance but they make me glad I was able to put that shit down.
themanintheguyfawkesmask
@Omnes Omnibus: Saddest steve earle song I’ve ever heard: Fort Worth Blues.
arguingwithsignposts
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): Zevon: My Shit’s Fucked Up.
Cat Lady
The first time I ever saw Dolly was with Porter on one of those cheesy shows from the Grand ‘Ol Opry back in the mid 70’s, when the uniform of late teenhood in the Northeast suburbs was army jackets, pea coats, Frye boots, flannel shirts and navy surplus jeans. For women. I had never ever seen anything like her in the world I inhabited, and wanted to dismiss her right away as antithetical to everything I believed in (women’s lib!). She’s just too unique and has such a great story and her explanation for how she chose her look and her perseverance really taught me a lesson about books, covers, etc. She’s wonderful, and that’s a great song.
Since we’re reaching back in time, here’s young Aretha with a different take on heartbreak. Prepare for goosebumps.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@arguingwithsignposts: After reading his bio I am amazed not of his “friends” killed his ass. His music is great but he was one low-life motherfucker.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@Cat Lady: bad link
Omnes Omnibus
@Cat Lady: Link no work.
Dennis SGMM
@Raven (formerly stuckinred):
Kind of wish you hadn’t done that. “After the Gold Rush” was the album that we listened to most (On crappy little battery powered eight track tape machines) when I was down in the Delta.
arguingwithsignposts
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): What, unlike most great artists?
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@Dennis SGMM: I know how that is. I have about 5 albums burned in my head forever.
8 Track! Damn, where the fuck did you get that, My Tho?
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@arguingwithsignposts: Whatever.
Cat Lady
Fixed now. You go listen.
ETA: both women were performing the same year.
JPK
@jl: Actually, it’s Putrid Superannuated JPK!
arguingwithsignposts
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): Jackson Browne was pretty much a dick too. Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate The Pretender. I’m not sure why that’s controversial.
OTOH, from what I’ve heard from people who knew him, TVZ had a heart of gold, as did woody guthrie.
Omnes Omnibus
@arguingwithsignposts: Springsteen and Bon Jovi are reputed to be pretty down to earth people as well.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@Cat Lady: Good but not even close to “You Make Me Feel.”
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@arguingwithsignposts: Read the book that he insisted his wife write and get back to me.
Smerf
Where are the breathless headlines about the terrible employment numbers today….oops wait a minute. Ok, then focus on the stock market because bad is good on Babboon piss.
Stay Gloomy…y’all!
arguingwithsignposts
@Omnes Omnibus: yeah, i’ve heard that too. the lesson for me seems to be that there are assholes in every profession. we humans are a complex lot.
cleek
@Mike Goetz:
i believe the local idiom is “pie-faced”
arguingwithsignposts
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): Zevon or Browne?
Why do you think I’m defending the dickishness of songwriters?
ETA: I can hold two thoughts in my head at one time. For instance, Billy Corrigan has written some great shit with Smashing Pumpkins. But he’s known for being an asshole. That doesn’t negate the lyrics. I would rather he were a wonderful human being, but I’ll take the songs and chalk the rest up to human nature.
MikeJ
Fred linked to Dolly Parton’s other voice the other day. Pretty good.
Derf
Hmmmm, DOW up about +63 right now with a half hour to go. Gosh, where are the breathless headlines on Babboon piss?
Seems the bargain hunters are busy eh? Those fools…ha. Everyone knows the market is crashing because Captain Doom John Galt Cole says so.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@arguingwithsignposts: Zevon, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”. This wasn’t “dickishness. This was incredible, long term abuse of nearly everyone he came into contact with including his children.
arguingwithsignposts
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): I’ll check it out. Like I said, I don’t excuse whatever went on behind the scenes.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@arguingwithsignposts: I don’t think you will. That said he played with just him and a guitar player here and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
Martin
Ok, it’s modest, but it’s going to be politically more difficult than most things for the tea party to quash:
The target is 100K jobs out of 13.9M unemployed, so it won’t do a lot, but it might help identify where more programs can be passed.
khead
Guilty here too. Since country crossover pop was THE ONLY CATEGORY for a decade or two in southern WV it was all I had in the 80’s unless I turned on MTV. Or until I left for college, at least.
My poor mother would freak if she could see Kenny now.
Cat Lady
@Raven (formerly stuckinred):
We’re just going to have to agree to disagree, but it’s like arguing over whether you like ice cream or chocolate more.
arguingwithsignposts
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): Now you’re calling me a liar? WTF?
BTW, I just checked wiki:
Sounds like he wanted the unvarnished truth to come out.
Like I said, humans are some complex organisms.
fasteddie9318
Ah, I see derf is once again improving his portfolio by slinging feces in the comments section of an obscure website.
gogol's wife
@Raven (formerly stuckinred):
I listen to “The Grass Is Blue” about once a day.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@fasteddie9318: Any thread that includes Townes van Zandt is fine by me.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
you know what other female artist is misunderstood in popular culture?
softer, softest
arguingwithsignposts
@Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal: Hitler?
Oh, wait.
bemused
Not too far OT, Randi Rhodes was talking about an article “Republicans fit the profile of a classic abuser” by Julie Driscoll. The behaviors abusers and the far right tea party Republicans share is striking.
No compromise ever, his way or his other way.
Never wrong, look what you made me do.
Uses fear tactics, bullying, threats and intimidation to get his way.
Never shares responsibility for breakdown of relationships.
Uses the kids as pawns.
Winning at all cost no matter who gets harmed in the process.
Driscoll said a classic abuser uses sexually derogatory slurs against his victim and compared that to Republicans using racial slurs against the President.
I hadn’t made the connection with the Republican bullying and spousal abusers but I think Driscoll has it right.
Svensker
@arguingwithsignposts:
That’s a great song. Also love Mavis Staples’ version.
tworivers
Did Dolly write that one? My Blue Tears, which she wrote way back in the early 70’s, is pretty kickass too.
Frankensteinbeck
@bemused:
I have, and I’ve mentioned it before. I use narcissistic personality disorder as a predictive model for the current GOP and particularly the Tea Party, and it’s AMAZINGLY good. Narcissism, alcoholism, and domestic abuse are all tightly associated with each other. Notice the ‘I’m always right, even when I’m wrong’ and ‘My personal rights and privileges are sacred, and no one else has any because they infringe on my right to get my way’ and ‘Rudeness is defined as not giving me what I want’ elements. That’s narcissistic personality disorder, right there.
DougJ at the top:
As for what comes next, I’ve been wondering about that. How many hostage scenarios are left? I know the debt ceiling deal included a budget deal that removed the next crisis. What absolutely crucial legislation, like a budget, do we know will have to be passed before the election?
arguingwithsignposts
@Svensker: wow. thanks for that. i hadn’t heard that version.
Brachiator
A few years back, 60 Minutes did a great profile of Dolly Parton. Transcript and video should still be available here. Yep. Definitely an amazing talent.
Southern Beale
I love Dolly Parton. You know, she re-recorded this song in 2001, released it on “Little Sparrow” — and the later itieration contains a verse that was cut from the original 1970 version.
Bubblegum Tate
My ex girlfriend was a recording studio engineer and thus ended up meeting/working with a lot of artists, who varied wildly in genre, disposition, and talent. She was never shy about praising the good ones and ripping the bad ones, but never was her praise more effusive than when she talked about Dolly Parton. She said that ol’ Dolly is a genuinely amazing singing talent and, on top of that, “probably the sweetest person in the world.”
gbear
Just wanted to post a link to the most-read story in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune today. Definitely worth the read. I think it fits in with the timbre of this thread…
Berial
It always amazes me that her FANS would love the song, think it was very sad and understand the feelings of the subject of the song, then, that very same day, treat some unwed mother EXACTLY like they heard described in song.
Linda Featheringill
@bemused: #64
“Look what you made me do” is classic.
I had noticed some similarities but when they bubble up into the public domain I’m frequently hit with something akin to flashbacks and by the time I have myself together again, the opportunity to comment has passed.
Sigh.
But you’re quite correct. Abusive motherfuckers.
Comrade Baron Elmo
Marianne Faithfull does a superb (yet completely different from Dolly’s) rendition of “Down From Dover.” She brings a great world-weariness to the song with that tobacco-cured, whiskey-marinated voice of hers.
It’s on her magnificent 2009 all-covers album “Easy Come Easy Go.” Not to be missed, that one…
bemused
@Linda Featheringill:
Driscoll says abuse is a character disorder that is learned social behavior. Another reason to hate Fox and crowd. They’ve done a bang up job of perpetuating the behavior among their groupies and creating a new batch of abusers.
Now when I read these teaparty goons’ letters to newspapers, I’m going to be wondering if every one of them is a spousal abuser or an abused spouse.
Steeplejack
@Ol’ Dirty DougJ:
Night shift checking in early (after a rare day shift).
No need to temper the love for Dolly Parton, DougJ. She’s a gifted performer and a hell of a songwriter. Wish I could find the YouTube clip of “Jolene” with just her and (incredible) fingerpicking guitar accompaniment, but I’ll submit this: Alison Krauss doing it at some awards thing (with Parton in the audience).
Highly recommend Parton’s album The Grass Is Blue.
Having said all that, I just got home from work, and what I really need is a frosty and some phat bass, old-school: Boz Scaggs, “Lowdown.”
Omnes Omnibus
@Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal: I like Courtney Love. Always have.
Omnes Omnibus
@Comrade Baron Elmo: This version?
Gloria from Canada
I have “always loved” Dolly. I also really like her duets with other artists, they are some of my favorites. She just keeps on and on singing. Her voice hasn’t changed from day one, still just perfect.