Music Tuesday: In Memoriam, Dolly Parton

As you all probably know, Dolly Parton, the great country singer and songwriter and even sometime movie star, passed away two weeks ago now on August 25^th.  Sassy, traditional, revolutionary, feminist without the negative aspects of feminism, wife to one husband for decades, philanthropist, believing Christian, and all-round good person, she was one of a kind.  She grew up poor, became rich from her talent, but always understood those that struggled to make ends meet.  From ABC News:

Dolly Parton, the beloved country music superstar known as much for her philanthropy and theme park business as she was for her chart-topping hit songs, has died at 80.

Parton's death on Tuesday was announced by her publicist, who said the singer "died peacefully" in Nashville. No cause of death was initially provided, but a later statement provided by her publicist said Parton died at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones after "bravely facing a brief battle with cancer."

A small private service will be held for immediate family, the publicist said.

"As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures," Parton wrote on Instagram in September 2025, though she never specified the nature of her health issues. Nearly six months later, at the seasonal opening of her Dollywood theme park, she said that she was still dealing with "a few little health issues" from which she was taking time to recover.

Parton also shared that she was still navigating her grief over the March 2025 death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, saying that she had been taking time since to rebuild herself "spiritually, emotionally and physically."

I did not really know Dolly Parton’s work that well.  Her music wasn’t exactly in my catalogue of listening titles, but I did like what I heard.  The thing that surprised me the most as I learned about her life is that she was a great songwriter.  She wrote her own songs and songs for others.  I can’t recall the exact number but the songs attributed to her are in the thousands.  AP devoted an article to her music legacy and said this.

Parton’s legacy starts with the immortality of her music: songwriting as solace, an exercise in creativity and an unwavering ability to write experience into art. Across her career, Parton wrote and performed perennial hits (“Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “Little Sparrow,” take your pick) and others that took on a life of their own (most famously, “I Will Always Love You,” made immortal by Whitney Houston ).

Parton grew up in poverty, one of 12 kids in East Tennessee’s rural Sevier County, where she started writing songs as a toddler. By 10, she was on the radio and TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. By 13, she had made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. At 21, she joined “The Porter Wagoner Show,” her star power quickly eclipsing its host.

The accomplishments — and the trials and tribulations that came with them, which she let roll off her shoulders with enviable resiliency — came fast and furious, as they do with once-in-a-lifetime talents. There are the 10 Grammys, the numerous Hall of Fame inductions, and the fact that she revolutionized the world of country music for women alongside Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, creating a path for crossover artistry. But there are also her Hollywood forays. It’s telling that her first feature film, “9 to 5,” celebrated women in the workplace and messed with their devious bosses.

The other aspect of her life that I learned was her philanthropy.  PEOPLE magazine had an article on her charitable giving. 

Beyond writing and performing hits like “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “Coat of Many Colors,” the legendary country singer-songwriter — who died on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at age 80 — dedicated much of her life to helping others at home and abroad.

From starting her Dollywood Foundation in the 1980s to help children in Sevier County, Tenn. — where she grew up — achieve educational success, to funding COVID vaccine research, Parton’s philanthropic efforts, like her career, were wide-ranging.

“I’m kind of addicted to the feeling of giving,” the country star told PEOPLE in 2021 for a People of the Year cover story. “Knowing that I’m doing something good for someone else.”

The following year, she was recognized with the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for her decades of charitable efforts, which also include her foundation’s Imagination Library, a monthly book gifting program for children under five.

“I’m proud of the Imagination Library as much as anything I’ve ever done in my life,” Parton told PEOPLE while receiving the award in 2022. The same night, the country icon also shared how she finds causes to support, revealing that she has a team of staffers to help out in between her other work. She also said she followed her heart.

“I always want to do things that I can be proud to talk about, things that I believe in,” Parton told PEOPLE at the time. “I cannot be a hypocrite and just say I’m going to donate this money for a tax write-off. I’d really like for it to mean something to me — something I can take pride in.”

So after spending a week exploring her music, I came up with these seven songs which I think capture various aspects of her body of work.  First, let’s go with one of her first hits, “Jolene” of 1973.

 

 

The intensity of expression is captured in the ever increasing desperation in the singer’s voice with each successive “Jolene.”  Dolly makes this song with her articulation, and it feels so honest.  I also love the interweave of three acoustic guitars. 

Even before “Jolene” was “Coat of Many Colors” (1971) which combines her story of growing up in poverty with nostalgic family love rooted in Biblical values.

 

Much later in 2001 she wrote and recorded “Little Sparrow.”  She was a great performer, so I’m going to select a live rendition to show off her voice and showmanship.

 

Of course, the little sparrow, who feels no pain, contrasts with singer.  This is wonderful songwriting. 

“9 to 5” (1980) is probably her most well-known song, and she captures perfectly a woman’s hardship in a male dominated work world.

 

The video uses excerpts from the movie and hopefully also captures her foray into movie acting.

From 1975, Doly wrote “The Bargain Store” for the album by that name.  Yes, this song is country, but there is such a folk song element to it.  It crosses genres.

 

Again such great songwriting.  A hurt, perhaps emotionally damaged woman, compares herself to a store of reduced priced items.  The song strives to be hopeful but the tension of the passed hurt belies the hope.

A brighter and more joyous song is the 1974, “Love is Like a Butterfly,” where Dolly makes another comparative leap.

 

And I love her articulation in that song as she flutters from word to word.  That’s two minutes and twenty-five seconds of perfection!

Finally I want to capture Doly’s faith as expressed in song.  Christianity Today also wrote on her passing and covered religious side.  Here’s an excerpt.

She wove religious themes and imagery into her songs and, like many other country artists, frequently recorded and performed covers of sacred songs. Her 1971 hit, “Coat of Many Colors,” blends her story of growing up in poverty with the biblical story of Joseph. One of her first original songs, “Letter to Heaven,” is written as a child’s petition to God after the death of her mother. Her 1994 album Heartsongs: Live from Home includes a cover of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” and Precious Memories (1999) features an array of familiar hymns like “In the Garden,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Power in the Blood.”

The article quotes from Dolly’s autobiography.

One day as I prayed in earnest, I broke through some sort of spirit wall and found God,” Dolly Parton wrote in her 1994 autobiography. “Not as a chastising, bombastic bully but as a friend I could talk to on a one-to-one basis. He is our father, after all.”

They also quote her as to why she doesn’t belong to an organized church. 

Parton described herself as “very spiritual” but not religious. She grew up going to the Pentecostal church where her grandfather preached, but said that after being shamed by fellow churchgoers for the way she dressed, she chose to part ways with organized Christianity.

Still, I find her faith sincere.  Let’s end her retrospective with “When Jesus Comes Calling For Me.”

 

When I was a child I recall an old man everybody loved old Zeke

(He was all alone, his family was gone one day he said to me)

I'm just sittin' here thinkin' about Jesus, rockin' as my old chair creaks

Some glad day I'll fly away when Jesus comes calling for me

It might be today, it might be tomorrow, maybe one day next week

I'll soon be done with trouble and sorrow when he comes calling for me

When Jesus comes calling for me

When I die don't grieve and cry

Lordy, don't feel sorry for me

Oh what a day, what a mighty fine day

When Jesus comes calling for me

When he comes calling for me

 

Somehow I think she had these lyrics on her lips as the Good Lord came calling for her.

Eternal Rest give onto her, Lord,
And let perpetual light shine upon her.
May Dolly Parton rest in peace.
Amen.

 

Sunday Meditation: Waiting For Jesus

Today is another long reading.  For the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year A the Gospel reading is of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  This is such a deep and profound passage that most homilies cannot do it justice.  Homilists may focus on the delay that Jesus takes to go to Bethany, or focus on Martha’s greeting when Jesus arrives, or, of course, the raising of Lazarus.  We’ll get to those in the embedded homilies.  But here are a few details that seem to go unnoticed.  John tells us that “Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair.”  That is interesting.  That happened in a different Gospel; it’s from Lk 7:36-50.  Here’s another interesting detail.  When Jesus is warned by the apostles that the Jews will be trying to kill him, the Apostle Thomas, the same so called “Doubting Thomas,” says, “Let us also go to die with him.”  He may have been skeptical but he is willing to die for Christ.

 

Here is today’s Gospel reading.

 

 

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany,

the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil

and dried his feet with her hair;

it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.

So the sisters sent word to him saying,

“Master, the one you love is ill.”

When Jesus heard this he said,

“This illness is not to end in death,

but is for the glory of God,

that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

So when he heard that he was ill,

he remained for two days in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to his disciples,

“Let us go back to Judea.”

The disciples said to him,

“Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you,

and you want to go back there?”

Jesus answered,

“Are there not twelve hours in a day?

If one walks during the day, he does not stumble,

because he sees the light of this world.

But if one walks at night, he stumbles,

because the light is not in him.”

He said this, and then told them,

“Our friend Lazarus is asleep,

but I am going to awaken him.”

So the disciples said to him,

“Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.”

But Jesus was talking about his death,

while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.

So then Jesus said to them clearly,

“Lazarus has died.

And I am glad for you that I was not there,

that you may believe.

Let us go to him.”

So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,

“Let us also go to die with him.”

 

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus

had already been in the tomb for four days.

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.

And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary

to comfort them about their brother.

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,

she went to meet him;

but Mary sat at home.

Martha said to Jesus,

“Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,

God will give you.”

Jesus said to her,

“Your brother will rise.”

Martha said to him,

“I know he will rise,

in the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus told her,

“I am the resurrection and the life;

whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,

and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.

Do you believe this?”

She said to him, “Yes, Lord.

I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,

the one who is coming into the world.”

 

When she had said this,

she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying,

“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”

As soon as she heard this,

she rose quickly and went to him.

For Jesus had not yet come into the village,

but was still where Martha had met him.

So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her,

presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,

she fell at his feet and said to him,

“Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping,

he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,

“Where have you laid him?”

They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”

And Jesus wept.

So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”

But some of them said,

“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man

have done something so that this man would not have died?”

 

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.

It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,

“Lord, by now there will be a stench;

he has been dead for four days.”

Jesus said to her,

“Did I not tell you that if you believe

you will see the glory of God?”

So they took away the stone.

And Jesus raised his eyes and said,

“Father, I thank you for hearing me.

I know that you always hear me;

but because of the crowd here I have said this,

that they may believe that you sent me.”

And when he had said this,

He cried out in a loud voice,

“Lazarus, come out!”

The dead man came out,

tied hand and foot with burial bands,

and his face was wrapped in a cloth.

So Jesus said to them,

“Untie him and let him go.”

 

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary

and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

~Jn:11:1-45

 

Dr. Brant Pitre provides a full explanation of the reading.

 

Dr. Pitre:

‘Martha said to him oh I know that he will rise again in the Resurrection on the last day.   Jesus said to her “I am the resurrection and the life;” he who believes in me though he die yet he shall live and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?  She said to him yes Lord I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God he who is coming into the world.’  Okay pause there notice what just happened?  Lazarus is dead; he's been dead 4 days.  When Jesus comes Mary says, ‘you know if you'd have been here this wouldn't have happened,’ which the reader now knows isn't true because Jesus knew about Lazarus sickness and that he was going to die but he stayed longer and allowed it to happen.  Why does Jesus wait two days longer to go to Judea?  Well this an interesting thing. John says very specifically that Jesus did this because he loved Lazarus and Mary and Martha.  That's a very mysterious thing.  I mean can you imagine a situation where let's say I'm giving a lecture in class at the Seminary and my wife calls and says you know your daughter is very sick right, very, very sick, I think she might be dying and I would respond okay well I'm going to stay here at work a couple of days longer because I love her.  I mean that's totally counterintuitive; it doesn't make any sense whatsoever, but this Jesus isn't an ordinary man.  He doesn't have an Ordinary Love for Lazarus; he allows Lazarus his friend to suffer and die because he's going to bring him back from the grave and in the living.

What Dr. Pitre calls “counterintuitive” I would call a non sequitur.  There are several what strike me as non sequiturs in this passage.  For instance, when the apostles warn Jesus that the Jews will be looking to kill Him, he gives what strikes me as a non sequitur response: “Are there not twelve hours in a day?  If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 

What’s with the non sequiturs?  Dr. Pitre continues:

 

St John Chrysostom said this about this quote: “He said many are offended when they see any of those who are pleasing to God suffering anything terrible.  Those who are offended by this however do not know that those who are especially dear to God have it as their lot to endure such things, as we see in the case of Lazarus who was also one of the friends of Christ but was also sick.”  So what Chrysostom is pointing out here is there's a mysterious reality about the Christian life, that those who are called to a special Holiness, those who in a sense God loves in a special way, he often frequently allows to suffer in a special way; he allows to suffer in a great way.

I have called this a non sequitur, but that’s not quite accurate.  What strikes as a non sequitur is identifying one of the paradoxes of Christianity and of human life.  Suffering and death actually has a purpose beyond common thought.  There is a mystery behind God’s logic.

 

I found Cardinal Blasé Cupich pastoral homily unique and insightful.

 

Cardinal Cupich connects Jesus’ delay in this Gospel passage with the time of World War II, a time of great tragedy.

Cardinal Cupich:

An Irish playwright by the name of Samuel Beckett wrote a play that became very famous called Waiting for Godot.  It was a play on words.  Waiting for God was something that he took up. How is it that these terrible atrocities could happen? What was God doing in all of this? God seemed to be out on a vacation, inattentive to the needs of humanity.  Today in this gospel text, Jesus gives us an answer about what God is doing and where God is.  We first of all see that Jesus finds out that Lazarus is dying and he waits until he dies.  It is in that waiting period, that time between the sufferings that we have and knowing what the result is that can be so anguishing.  Maybe as we wait for a diagnosis or we wait to see whether or not someone hurt in an accident is going to survive. or the waiting that comes just in therapy and healing where the end result is not certain.  Jesus tells us he's there in the waiting because the life that he gives is not just a matter of continuation of our existence but rather it's the word, “Zoe,” which is the breathing of God's life in us, that God wants to reveal in the waiting that he's present to us, that God is revealing himself in those moments and then we begin to see.

In those moments of waiting, hanging on the point of a needle to see how some tragedy turns out, God is breathing into us, revealing Himself.  “He's there with us in that moment in which the human frailty is so very present.”  Cardinal Cupich continues:

 

So today Jesus answers Beckett, Waiting for Godot, waiting for God is in fact exactly what we should be looking for in life. That God is present in the inbetweens of life. God is present in the smelliness, the stinkiness of life, the things that we would otherwise want to avoid. When everyone abandons us, God is present there.  And finally, God is present and has to be present in the community that does its best to make sure that the bonds of oppression injustice are untied.

 

 

Sunday Meditation: “Untie him and let him go.”

 

Here is a wonderful hymn in the mode of a country song on this topic, “Jesus Raised Lazarus from the Tomb.”

 

When he's four days

And All hope is gone

Lord we don’t understand

Why you waited so long.

 

But His way is God’s way,

Not yours or mine.

And isn’t it great,

When He’s four days late

But He’s still on time.

 

Performed by the Frank Brownstead Choir. 

 

Sunday Meditation: The Voice of the Good Shepherd

Sheep factored prominently last week but they are even more front and center on the Fourth Sunday of Easter.  Every Fourth Sunday of Easter is called Good Shepherd Sunday.  Every Fourth Sunday of Easter we get a reading from the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel with the stipulation that each year it’s a different part of the tenth chapter.  In Year A, we get John 10:1-10 with Jesus being the “gate” to the sheepfold.  You can read about it here.  In Year B, we get Jesus claiming to be “the Good Shepherd” in John 10:11-18, and you can read about that here.  Today in Year C, Jesus tells us that all who hear His voice follow him.

 

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

No one can take them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,

and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.

The Father and I are one.”

~Jn 10:27-30

 

Today’s main homily will be from Fr. Tim Peters who connects the Good Shepherd to the Old Testament metaphors of the shepherd and contrasts with the very poor shepherds in Israel’s history.

And so, Christ’s voice says: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is One.  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart.” 

Today is also Mother’s Day, and Fr. Sam French, the Average Shepherd as he calls himself, has a homily that combines the Good Shepherd Sunday with Mother’s Day!

 

Actually, isn’t a mother just like a shepherd?  I think so.

 

Sunday Meditation: “My sheep hear my voice."

 

For Mother’s Day, I am going to stray from a hymn and embed this beautiful country song by Anne Wilson and Hillary Scott, “Mamas.”  

 

Here are the lyrics to this heart-tugging song.

 

Mamas

[Verse 1: Anne Wilson]

I don't know why God made one-bedroom apartments out of state

I don't know why He made hometowns if it's somewhere I can't stay

I don't know why He made growing up but I guess that we're all gonna

Yeah, I don't know a lot of things but I know why God made mamas

 

[Chorus: Anne Wilson]

For the open arms to fall into

For the when you don't know what to do

For the phone call sayin', "Don't forget, I'm always in your corner"

For the heart that makes a house a home

For the knowing that you're not alone

For the "Darling, don't you dare give up even when you wanna"

Yeah, that's why God made mamas

 

[Verse 2: Hillary Scott]

For putting band-aids on a scrapеd up knee and wiping tears away

For picking up the piecеs when that dream don't go your way

For always giving more than taking, always knowing what ya need

And showing you that fighting's always best done on your knees

 

[Chorus: Anne Wilson]

For the open arms to fall into

For the when you don't know what to do

For the phone call sayin', "Don't forget, I'm always in your corner"

For the heart that makes a house a home

For the knowing that you're not alone

For the "Darling, don't you dare give up even when you wanna"

Yeah, that's why God made mamas

 

 [Post-Chorus: Anne Wilson & Hillary Scott]

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh (Oh-oh-oh-oh)

Mamas, mamas

 

[Bridge: Anne Wilson & Hillary Scott]

I don't know why God made living life down here so hard to do

But I know why God made mamas 'cause He knew I needed you

Oh-oh, oh-oh

 

[Chorus: Anne Wilson & Hillary Scott]

For the open arms to fall into (To fall into)

For the when you don't know what to do (Know what to do)

For the phone call sayin', "Don't forget, I'm always in your corner"

(I'm always in your corner)

For the heart that makes a house a home

For the knowing that you're not alone (Not alone)

For the "Darling, don't you dare give up even when you wanna"

Yeah, that's why God made mamas (Mamas)

 

[Post-Chorus: Anne Wilson]

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (Mamas)

Oh-oh-oh-oh (Mamas)

(Mamas)

Mm-mm-mm (Mamas)