Beyonce made major tweaks to the lyrics of Dolly Parton’s hit 1973 song, Jolene, as she covered the track on her Cowboy Carter album – which officially dropped on Thursday.
The singer’s country-themed album contains a total of 27 tracks that not only contains the Jolene cover with new lyrics, but also an interlude from Parton herself – where she referenced to Beyonce’s ‘Becky.’
A big alteration that was made occurred in the chorus, with the original seeing Dolly pleading with another woman. However, Beyonce, 42, changed the lyrics to give a stern warning to the woman to not ‘come for my man.’
‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/I’m warning you, don’t come for my man/Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/Don’t take the chance because you think you can,’ the Crazy In Love performer sings.
While Parton’s lyrics had been: ‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/I’m begging of you please don’t take my man/Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/Please don’t take him just because you can.’
Beyonce, 42, made major tweaks to the lyrics of Dolly Parton’s hit 1973 song, Jolene, as she covered the track on her Cowboy Carter album – which officially dropped on Thursday
A big alteration that was made occurred in the chorus, with the original seeing Dolly pleading with another woman. However, Beyonce changed the lyrics to give a stern warning to the woman to not ‘come for my man’; seen in November 2023 in Nashville
Beyonce also made changes to lyrics in the verses as well, such as in verse one. Dolly had originally sung about the woman’s beauty while also belting out, ‘I cannot compete with you.’
In Beyonce’s version, she instead sang: ‘You’re beautiful beyond compare/Takes more than beauty and seductive stares/To come between a family and a happy man.’
‘Jolene I’m a woman too/The games you are playing are nothing new/So you don’t want no heat with me, Jolene,’ she further warned.
As the star transitioned into the chorus once again, the lyrics also included: ‘I’m warning you woman, find you your own man/Jolene, I know I’m a queen, Jolene/I’m still a Creole banjee b***h from Louisiana (Don’t try me).’
Towards the end of the second verse, Beyonce added lyrics to show that she had the confidence her man would stay by her side.
‘Good deeds roll in like tumbling weeds/I sleep good happy, cause you can’t dig up our planted seeds/I know my man’s gon’ stand by me breathing in my gentle breeze.’
The cover concluded with a bridge as the songstress was joined by a choir as they belted out: ‘I crossed those valleys, highs and lows and everything between/Good deeds roll in like tumbling weeds.’
‘Good and happy cause you can’t dig up them planted seeds/Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.’
‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/I’m warning you, don’t come for my man/Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/Don’t take the chance because you think you can,’ the Crazy In Love performer sings
Beyonce also made changes to lyrics in the verses as well, such as in verse one. Dolly had originally sung about the woman’s beauty while also belting out, ‘I cannot compete with you’; seen in May 2023 in Texas
Beyonce then briefly sang in the perspective of her man and sang, ‘I’ma stand by her/She gon’ stand by me/Jolene I’ma stand by him/He gon’ stand by me Jolene.’
Earlier this month, Dolly hinted that the singer may have covered Jolene and gave her thoughts during an interview with Knox News.
‘Well, I think she has! I think she’s recorded Jolene and I think it’s probably gonna be on her country album, which I’m very excited about that,’ the Here You Come Again hitmaker stated.
She also gushed, ‘I love her! She’s a beautiful girl and a great singer. We’ve kind of sent messages back and forth through the years.’
‘And she and her mother were like fans, and I was always touched that they were fans, and I always thought she was great.’
Back in 2022, Parton had expressed her wish for Beyonce to cover her track Jolene. While on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, she stated, ‘I think she’s fantastic and beautiful, and I love her music.’
‘I would just love to hear Jolene done in just a big way, kind of like how Whitney [Houston] did my I Will Always Love You.’
Dolly added, ‘Just someone that can take my little songs and make them like powerhouses. That would be a marvelous day in my life if she ever does do Jolene.’
‘Jolene I’m a woman too/The games you are playing are nothing new/So you don’t want no heat with me, Jolene,’ she further warned
Earlier this month, Dolly hinted that the singer may have covered Jolene and gave her thoughts during an interview with Knox News; seen in 2022 in Las Vegas
Just two years later, the country icon’s wish came true – and she also had the opportunity to appear on Beyonce’s eighth studio album to voice an interlude
The 20-second snippet – which is titled Dolly P – leads into the singer’s Jolene cover, and Parton could be heard saying, ‘Hey, Miss Honey Bey, it’s Dolly P’
Not long after Country Carter became available, social media users flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their excitement over the album – as well as the Jolene cover
One wrote, ‘This is why Dolly Parton wanted her to sing it,’ while another brought up the lyric changes. ‘Oh so instead of begging Jolene like the original she warning for her own safety. I LOVE THE FLIP
The host then questioned if Beyonce had knowledge of the wish and Parton replied with, ‘I don’t know if she’s even got the message, but wouldn’t that be killer?’
Just two years later, the country icon’s wish came true – and she also had the opportunity to appear on Beyonce’s eighth studio album to voice an interlude.
The 20-second snippet – which is titled Dolly P – leads into the singer’s Jolene cover, and Parton could be heard saying, ‘Hey, Miss Honey Bey, it’s Dolly P.’
‘You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about? Reminded me of someone I knew back when. Except she has flaming locks of auburn hair,’ she added, subtly referencing to Beyonce’s ‘Becky’ from her Lemonade album era.
‘Bless her heart. Just a hair of a different color. But it hurts just the same.’
Not long after Country Carter became available, social media users flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their excitement over the album – as well as the Jolene cover.
One wrote, ‘This is why Dolly Parton wanted her to sing it,’ while another brought up the lyric changes. ‘Oh so instead of begging Jolene like the original she warning for her own safety. I LOVE THE FLIP.’
‘Love me some Dolly & some Bey,’ another added, while one fan penned, ‘One thing about Beyonce is that she is the only one who can collaborate with one of the great legends of country music.’
Another typed, ‘Beyonce really took the song and make it her own!!! Wow.’
One gushed, ‘Dolly created a masterpiece, Beyonce slayed on it. Amazing cover,’ and another added, ‘LIVING LEGENDS.’
Country Carter contains a total of 27 tracks, and Beyonce collaborated with other music artists on the country album, including Miley Cyrus on the song titled, II Most Wanted.
She worked alongside another legend, Willie Nelson, on Smoke Hour and Smoke Hour II, while Post Malone was featured on Levii’s Jeans. Her daughter, Rumi, also appeared on the song Protector.
Country Carter contains a total of 27 tracks, and Beyonce collaborated with other music artists on the country album, including Miley Cyrus on the song titled, II Most Wanted; Cyrus seen in February in L.A.
She worked alongside another legend, Willie Nelson, on Smoke Hour and Smoke Hour II, while Post Malone was featured on Levii’s Jeans. Her daughter, Rumi, also appeared on the song Protector
Earlier this year on March 19, she announced Country Carter’s release date – which is act ii for her successful 2022 album Renaissance.
Along with showing cover art, she expressed gratitude for the success of her previously released singles 16 Carriages and Texas Hold ‘Em which dropped in February.
‘I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you,’ she wrote.
The performer then explained the album, ‘has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t.’
Earlier this year on March 19, she announced Country Carter’s release date – which is act ii for Renaissance (2022)
‘But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.’
‘It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.’
She added that ‘criticism’ she received upon entering the country genre caused her to ‘propel past the limitations that were put on me.’
In conclusion, the wife of Jay-Z wrote, ‘This ain’t a Country album. This is a “Beyonce” album. This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!’