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
Bloody Bones
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I know that all around Sevierville
And around in the mountains
People have big families
And it's kinda hard to get
Them into bed at night
So, I guess I'll love you for me
With bloody bones and scratch eyes
But I like to do a song now that, not a song
I'd like to tell my little story
And it goes like this
And I'll dedicate this to my mama
Even though she meant well
She done this to us
Now there was 12 of us kids
And all day long we'd fight and we'd scratch
And we'd scratch and we'd fight
But mama never had any trouble getting all
Of us into bed at night
'Cause dear old mama, bless her heart
She done the best she could
But mama had the awfulest way
Of making us be good
She'd tell us that raw head bloody
Bone was waiting just outside
That he'd come in and get us
If he knew I was crying
And he'd scare us all to death if
The dogs outside get to barking, woo
There where times we hear daddy cough
We'd think it's bloody bone harken oh me
And when we got up to something mean
Well mama she smelled the rat
She'd scratch on the wall
And she'd say, "Lisa, what was that?"
Then we'd all get scared
And we'd dive underneath the cover
And we'd make us a little airhole
And stick our nose out
Just enough so we wouldn't smother
And every night
One of the kids would wet in the bed
But mama, she never did understand why
But I wasn't about to get out
Of bed and take a change
I wasn't about to get out of
Bed and take a change
And step on, bone old scratch eye, oh me
Well, I'll get in the bed, you see
And I'll cover up my head and I
Put my fingers in my ears
So I couldn't hear the Boogerman that
Was breathing under the bed
'Cause I know if I get out of that bed that
The devil would get me by the hard hand
Oh me!
And now that we'd sleep four
And five in the bed
And we get scared we'd all screecher
And it be below zero in our old house
But we'd just be burn up
And when we did drift off to sleep
We'd just lay there
And we'd glut and we'd moan
'Cause we was dreaming 'bout
That bloody bones
And that scratch eyes and that Boogerman
There was a beast in us in our home, you see
And now that's been a long, long time ago
And now that I'm grown you know
I still ain't sure that
There's not a Boogerman
And a scratch eyes and a raw head bloody bone
Thank you
The lyrics to Dolly Parton's song "Bloody Bones" recount a childhood experience of growing up in Sevierville, surrounded by big families and the challenges of getting all the children to bed. The song is dedicated to her mother, who had a unique way of making the kids behave. She would scare them with stories of "raw head bloody bone" waiting outside, ready to snatch them if they cried. The sound of barking dogs and their father's cough would also cause them to panic, believing it to be the Boogerman.
The song captures the fear and anxiety of childhood, with the children hiding under covers with only a small airhole, trying to avoid wetting the bed. The singer, however, refuses to take the risk of getting out of bed and facing the Boogerman. Despite growing up and becoming an adult, there is still a lingering uncertainty about whether the Boogerman, scratch eyes, and raw head bloody bone truly exist.
Overall, "Bloody Bones" reflects the folklore and superstitions that were prevalent in the singer's childhood and the lasting impact they had on her perception of the world. It also pays tribute to her mother's attempts to keep her children in line, even if it meant instilling fear and dread.
Line by Line Meaning
This is a story that I wrote
I am about to share a personal story that I have written.
And I know that all around Sevierville
I am aware that in the town of Sevierville,
And around in the mountains
And in the surrounding mountain areas,
People have big families
There are many families with numerous members,
And it's kinda hard to get
And it can be quite challenging to
Them into bed at night
get all of them to go to bed at night.
So, I guess I'll love you for me
Therefore, I will express my love for you in my own way.
With bloody bones and scratch eyes
Using the imagery of scary stories with bloody bones and eyes that scratch,
And the Boogerman, right? (yeah, I heard)
And the mythical Boogerman creature, right? (Yes, I have heard about it)
But I like to do a song now that, not a song
However, I would like to share a story in the form of a song,
I'd like to tell my little story
I want to narrate my small, personal story
And I'll dedicate this to my mama
And I will dedicate this narrative to my mother
Even though she meant well
Despite her good intentions
She done this to us
She subjected us to these experiences
Now there was 12 of us kids
I grew up with a family of twelve children
And all day long we'd fight and we'd scratch
Throughout the day, my siblings and I would constantly argue and physically fight
And we'd scratch and we'd fight
We would scratch each other and continue fighting
But mama never had any trouble getting all
However, my mother never struggled to get
Of us into bed at night
all of us to go to bed at night
'Cause dear old mama, bless her heart
Because our dear old mother, although well-meaning,
She done the best she could
She did her best
But mama had the awfulest way
However, my mother had the most frightening method
Of making us be good
To make us behave properly
She'd tell us that raw head bloody
She would warn us about the terrifying
Bone was waiting just outside
Raw head bloody bone who supposedly lurked outside
That he'd come in and get us
She claimed that he would enter the house and take us
If he knew I was crying
If he became aware that I was crying
And he'd scare us all to death if
Furthermore, he would frighten us immensely if
The dogs outside get to barking, woo
The dogs outside started barking, oh my
There where times we hear daddy cough
There were occasions when we heard our father cough
We'd think it's bloody bone harken oh me
We would mistakenly believe it was bloody bone approaching, oh dear
And when we got up to something mean
Whenever we misbehaved
Well mama she smelled the rat
Our mother would discern our misdeeds
She'd scratch on the wall
She would scratch the wall
And she'd say, "Lisa, what was that?"
Then she would ask, "Lisa, what was that?"
Then we'd all get scared
At this point, we would all become frightened
And we'd dive underneath the cover
We would quickly hide under the covers
And we'd make us a little airhole
Creating a small opening for air
And stick our nose out
We would poke our noses out
Just enough so we wouldn't smother
Just sufficiently to avoid suffocation
And every night
Each and every night
One of the kids would wet in the bed
One of the children would wet the bed
But mama, she never did understand why
However, our mother never understood why
But I wasn't about to get out
But I was unwilling to get out
Of bed and take a change
Of bed and take a risk
I wasn't about to get out of
I was not willing to leave
Bed and take a change
my bed and take a risk
And step on, bone old scratch eye, oh me
And step on something like an old bone or scratch my eye, oh my
Well, I'll get in the bed, you see
Well, I will climb into bed, you see
And I'll cover up my head and I
I will cover my head with blankets
Put my fingers in my ears
And plug my fingers into my ears
So I couldn't hear the Boogerman that
In order to block out the sound of the Boogerman
Was breathing under the bed
Who supposedly breathed under the bed
'Cause I know if I get out of that bed that
Because I am aware that if I leave that bed,
The devil would get me by the hard hand
The devil would manage to capture me forcefully
Oh me!
Oh dear!
And now that we'd sleep four
And now that four of us would sleep
And five in the bed
Even up to five people in the same bed
And we get scared we'd all screecher
Whenever we got scared, we would all scream loudly
And it be below zero in our old house
And sometimes the temperature would be below freezing in our old house
But we'd just be burn up
Despite the cold, we would get really warm
And when we did drift off to sleep
And when we eventually fell asleep,
We'd just lay there
We would simply lie in bed
And we'd glut and we'd moan
And we would toss and turn restlessly
'Cause we was dreaming 'bout
Because we were dreaming about
That bloody bones
Those frightening bloody bones
And that scratch eyes and that Boogerman
And those eyes that scratch and the Boogerman
There was a beast in us in our home, you see
There was a fearful presence within our home, you know
And now that's been a long, long time ago
And now, that is a distant memory from the past
And now that I'm grown you know
And now that I am grown, you know
I still ain't sure that
I am still uncertain that
There's not a Boogerman
There might not be a Boogerman
And a scratch eyes and a raw head bloody bone
Or eyes that scratch and a terrifying raw head bloody bone
Thank you
I appreciate your attention
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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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.