The songwriter Dolly Parton called the most beautiful person: “Wonderful, touching, deep lyrics”
Throughout every point in her career, Dolly Parton never forgot about the power of a great song.
As much as she may have taken pride in becoming one of the largest female figures in country music, the most valuable piece of her career was being able to write classic songs like ‘9 to 5’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’ rather than having to work with outside songwriters at every opportunity. She could break people’s hearts in an instant, but it’s not like Parton was alone in being a fantastic singer-songwriter.
Still, for the country world, having someone who wrote their own material was a bit of an anomaly. The proper way of working in country music is finding the best singer to pair with the right song, and there was no shortage of rhinestone cowboys who tried their hand at singing tunes that they didn’t understand at all. That kind of approach was commonplace, but it’s a little bit different when looking at the folk tradition.
Everyone from Pete Seeger to Woody Guthrie had their own voices whenever you listened to their records, and that’s the kind of power that can’t be thought up by a songwriting committee. These were artists who could tell stories every single time they had a song at their disposal, and while there were people like Johnny Cash who could do the same thing when they had a guitar in their hand, Parton was a little bit different.
A lot of her greatest songs were about the simple facts of life, and while it might have meant breaking a few hearts here and there, that’s the nature of being a songwriter. Not every tune necessarily has a happy ending, and that’s what makes the jukebox spin every single time a saloon plays a song like ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ or ‘Give My Love to Rose’. But the rock and roll stars could do the same thing as well.
James Taylor was no stranger to making songs that embraced the struggles of everyday life, and Bob Dylan practically set the standard for people wanting to make something more advanced than a bunch of party songs, but Cat Stevens was a little bit different. ‘Wild World’ and ‘Father to Son’ were life lessons given to you like a warm hug, and Parton never forgot how those songs made her feel.
But beyond being a fantastic songwriter, Parton was far more interested in the soft soul behind all of those lyrics, saying, “I have loved Cat Stevens from the first time I heard his voice, heard him play the guitar, and heard his wonderful, touching, deep lyrics. I also thought he was the most beautiful and mysterious man I had ever seen. I loved how his music touched my very soul.”
Which makes sense considering the kind of songs that he was singing. A tune like ‘Peace Train’ doesn’t come from someone who is that guarded, and while not every song he wrote was necessarily a pick-me-up, it was important for him to hold the audience’s hand when discussing some of the more brutal parts of life.
Because when it comes to the way that Stevens and Parton both wrote, being a bit more delicate was always the right approach when talking about heartache. It’s not easy for anyone out there trying to fit into this world, and even if life isn’t going to cut you any breaks, it’s better to have musicians that are right there by your side letting you know that you’re not alone.
