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
But You Loved Me Then
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Remember how we used to go and visit fairy land
Remember how we'd search for that pot of gold at the rainbow's end
But you loved me then
And the flowers the we picked from the fields where we did run
And the sunbeams that we'd catch from the summer's golden sun
And the butterflies we'd chase as we'd go running through the wind
But you loved me then
When you left I lost my way forever and the fairy land
Now the rainbows have all gone and the flowers have all died
And the sunbeams that we caught have all gone free again
And the butterfiles we chased have all gone with the wind
And you no longer care but you love me then
(And you no longer care) but you love me then
(And you no longer care) but you love me then
In Dolly Parton's song "But You Loved Me Then," she recounts the memories of a past love. The lyrics paint vivid pictures of idyllic moments, such as the building of castles in the sand and chasing butterflies through the wind. The imagery is reminiscent of childhood innocence and wonder, and we see the love they shared as pure and untainted.
As the song progresses, we learn that the love has since faded and the memories now only remain as ruins. The fairy land and rainbows have disappeared, and the flowers have all died. The once cherished moments have been reduced to a mere memory, with the person who once loved her now no longer caring. The song captures the bittersweet nature of nostalgia, as well as the harsh reality that time can erode even the strongest love.
The song taps into universal themes of love and loss, reminding us to cherish the moments and love we have while we have them, as they may not last forever. It's a powerful and emotive song that speaks to the heart and lingers long after the final notes have played.
Line by Line Meaning
Remember all the castles that we once built in the sand
Recall the memories of the castles we built in the sand together
Remember how we used to go and visit fairy land
Recall the moments we spent in the imaginary land of fairies
Remember how we'd search for that pot of gold at the rainbow's end
Remember our quest for the treasure at the end of the rainbow
But you loved me then
Despite everything else, you loved me in the past
And the flowers the we picked from the fields where we did run
Remember the flowers we gathered while running wild in the fields
And the sunbeams that we'd catch from the summer's golden sun
Recall how we caught the warm sunbeams of summer together
And the butterflies we'd chase as we'd go running through the wind
Remember how we chased butterflies while playing in the wind
Now I walk through the ruins of our castles in the sand
Now I only have memories of our sandcastle ruins to walk through
When you left I lost my way forever and the fairy land
After you left, I lost my direction in life, including the imaginary fairy land
Now the rainbows have all gone and the flowers have all died
All the beauty and color of our past have disappeared
And the sunbeams that we caught have all gone free again
The warmth and light we shared have vanished or moved on
And the butterflies we chased have all gone with the wind
All the butterflies we chased are now just fleeting memories
And you no longer care but you love me then
Even though you don't care about me anymore, you once loved me
(And you no longer care) but you love me then
It's painful to admit that you loved me in the past but not anymore
(And you no longer care) but you love me then
I'm haunted by the fact that you once loved me deeply but now it's gone
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DOLLY PARTON
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.