Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and television in East Tennessee. At age 12 she was appearing on Knoxville TV, and at 13, she was recording on a small label and appearing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. When she graduated from high school in 1964 she moved to Nashville, taking many traditional elements of folklore and popular music from East Tennessee with her.
Parton's initial success came as a songwriter, with her songs being covered by Kitty Wells, Hank Williams, Jr., Skeeter Davis, and a number of others. She signed with Monument Records in late 1965, where she was initially pitched as a bubblegum pop singer, earning only one national chart single, "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby," which did not crack the Billboard Top 100. Additional pop singles also failed to chart.
The label agreed to have Parton sing country music after her composition "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" as recorded by Bill Phillips (and with Parton, uncredited, on harmony) went to No. 6 on the country charts in 1966. Her first country single, "Dumb Blonde" (one of the few songs during this era that she recorded but didn't write), reached No. 24 country 1967, followed later the same year with "Something Fishy," which went to No. 17. The two songs anchored her first full-length album, Hello I'm Dolly, that same year.
In 1967, Parton was asked to join the weekly syndicated country music TV program hosted by Porter Wagoner, replacing Norma Jean. She also signed with RCA Records, Wagoner's label, during this period, where she would remain for the next two decades. Wagoner and Parton immediately began a hugely successful career as a vocal duet in addition to their solo work and their first single together, a cover of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind," reached the top ten on the U.S. country charts in late 1967, and was the first of over a dozen duet singles to chart for them during the next several years.
Parton is a hugely successful songwriter, having begun by writing country songs with strong elements of folk music in them based upon her upbringing in humble mountain surroundings. Her songs "Coat of Many Colors" and "Jolene" have become classics in the field, as have a number of others. As a composer, she is also regarded as one of country music's most gifted storytellers, with many of her narrative songs based on persons and events from her childhood.
In 1982 Dolly Parton sang her song "I Will Always Love You", for the movie "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", starring Parton and Burt Reynolds. The song - originally composed around 1974 - made few ripples, but it wasn't until Whitney Houston re-recorded it for "The Bodyguard" a decade later, that the song made yet another international hit for Dolly Parton. She later put out her own version on the 1996 album of the same name.
In 1987, Parton left her longtime label, RCA, and signed with Columbia Records, where her recording career continued to prosper, but by the mid 1990s, Parton, along with many other performers of her generation, found that her new music was not welcome on country radio playlists. She recorded a series of critically acclaimed bluegrass albums, beginning with "The Grass is Blue" (1999) and "Little Sparrow" (2001), both of which won Grammy Awards. Her 2002 album "Halos and Horns" included a bluegrass version of the Led Zeppelin classic Stairway to Heaven. In 2005, Parton released Those Were The Days, her interpretation of hits from the folk-rock era of the late 1960s through early 1970s. The CD featured such classics as John Lennon's "Imagine," Cat Stevens' "Where Do The Children Play," Tommy James' "Crimson & Clover," and the folk classic "Where Have All The Flowers Gone", as well as the title track.
In 2007, Dolly paved new musical ground by forming her own record label, Dolly Records. The label's first release - Backwoods Barbie - debuted at #2 on the Billboard country albums charts and marks Parton's first mainstream country album in 17 years. Parton is touring North America and Europe throughout 2008 in support of her latest release.
1955
After The Gold Rush
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sayin' something about a queen
There were peasants singing and drummers drumming
And the archer split the tree
There was a fanfare blowing to the sun
There was floating on the breeze
In the twentieth century
Look at Mother Nature on the run
In the twentieth century
I was lying in a burned out basement
With the full moon in my eyes
I was hoping for replacement
When the sun burst through the sky
There was a band playing in my head
And I felt like I could cry
I was thinking about what a friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie
Thinking about what a friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie
I dreamed I saw the silver spaceships flying
In the yellow haze of the sun
There were children crying and colors flying
All around the chosen ones
All in a dream, all in a dream
The loading had begun
Flying Mother Nature's silver seed
To a new home in the sun
Flying Mother Nature's silver seed
To a new home
in the sun
The song "After the Gold Rush" by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt is a psychedelic folk rock song that is rich with symbolism and imagery. The song begins with a dream sequence where the singer dreams of knights in armor with peasants singing and archers splitting trees. This imagery suggests a sort of medieval fantasy world where the queen is revered by the people. However, the dream shifts and the singer sees Mother Nature on the run in the 20th century. This suggests a sort of apocalyptic vision where nature is struggling to survive in the wake of human destruction.
The second verse shifts gears to a more personal perspective where the singer is lying in a burned out basement with the moon in their eyes. The singer is hoping for replacement when the sun bursts through the sky. The band playing in the singer's head and the hope that what a friend said was a lie suggest a sort of personal struggle or trauma that the singer is dealing with. The final verse returns to the dream sequence where the singer sees silver spaceships flying in the yellow haze of the sun with children crying and colors flying all around the chosen ones. This imagery suggests a sort of space odyssey or intergalactic adventure where the chosen ones are flying to a new home in the sun.
Overall, the song's rich imagery and symbolism suggest a sort of apocalyptic vision of the world where nature is struggling to survive and technology is facilitating the exploration of new frontiers. The personal struggle of the singer is juxtaposed against these larger themes of human destruction and technological advancement.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I dreamed I saw the knights in armor coming
The dreamer had a vision of medieval knights approaching.
Sayin' something about a queen
They talked about a queen
There were peasants singing and drummers drumming
There were common folk singing and a percussionist keeping a rhythm.
And the archer split the tree
An archer hit the tree and split it open.
There was a fanfare blowing to the sun
The sun was greeted with lively music.
There was floating on the breeze
Something was floating about gently on the air.
Look at Mother Nature on the run
Mother Nature is being displaced or overwhelmed.
In the twentieth century
This is happening in the 1900s.
I was lying in a burned out basement
The dream changed to a scene of a person lounging in a ruined underground space.
With the full moon in my eyes
The moon shone directly on the dreamer's eyes.
I was hoping for replacement
The person hoped to replace something they seemed to have lost or been deprived of.
When the sun burst through the sky
The sun rose from the horizon suddenly and intensely.
There was a band playing in my head
The dreamer imagined music in their mind or as part of their thoughts.
And I felt like I could cry
The dreamer felt deeply emotional to the point of tears.
I was thinking about what a friend had said
The dreamer's thoughts went to a recent conversation with a friend.
I was hoping it was a lie
The dreamer wished that what their friend said wasn't true.
I dreamed I saw the silver spaceships flying
The dreamer then saw shining spacecraft soaring in the sky.
In the yellow haze of the sun
The sun cast a warm, yellow glow on the world.
There were children crying and colors flying
Concurrently, children wept and various hues soared through the air.
All around the chosen ones
All this action surrounded some group that seemed special.
All in a dream, all in a dream
The dreamer reminds the listeners that this is all a figment of their imagination.
The loading had begun
Some kind of task, like taking off or being transported, was underway.
Flying Mother Nature's silver seed
The 'silver seed' seems to be an object or some kind of life form that is airborne.
To a new home in the sun
This entity is on its way to a new place of residence, somewhere close to the sun.
Flying Mother Nature's silver seed
The idea of telling this tale of natural migration repeats again.
To a new home
Whether the entity is a physical object or a creature, it is relocating to a new home.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Romy K.
on Gypsy Joe And Me
As a matter of fact she's contemplating suicide standing on the bridge, that's how they'll be together again.