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
Deportee
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The oranges are piled in their creosote dumps
You're flying them back to the Mexican border
To pay all their money to wade back again
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye Rosalita
Adios mis a-mi-gos, Jesus and Maria
You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane
Some of us are illegal and some of us are not wanted
Our work contract's out and we have to move on
But it's 600 miles to that mexican border
They chase us like outlaws, like rustlers, like thieves
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye Rosalita
Adios mis a-mi-gos, Jesus and Maria
You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane
All they will call you will be deportee
My father's own father, waded that river
They took all the money he made in his life
My brothers and sister come work the fruit trees
They rode the truck til' they took down and died
The airplane caught fire over Los Gatos canyon
A fireball of lightning that shook all our hills
Who are these dear friends all scattered like dry leaves
The radio said they were just deportees
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye Rosalita
Adios mis a-mi-gos, Jesus and Maria
You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane
All they will call you will be deportee
No, all they will call you will be deportee
All they will call you will be deportee
Dolly Parton's song Deportee poignantly addresses the plight of undocumented migrant workers who are forced out of the United States, their home, when their work contracts run out or if they are deemed illegal. The first verse paints a picture of an agriculture industry that relies on cheap migrant labor but doesn't value the workers themselves. The crops are harvested and the fruit is left to rot or disposed of in dumps, signifying the industry's disregard for the workers who made it possible.
The second verse delves deeper into the experiences of undocumented migrants, who are often treated like criminals as they are pursued by authorities on their way out of the country. The distance from where they are working to the Mexican border is vast, but they are chased like outlaws, rustlers, and thieves as they attempt to make their way back. This illustrates the desperation of their situation and highlights how many have to make perilous journeys to leave the country, risking their lives in the process.
Dolly Parton uses her lyrics and the melody of the song to draw attention to the human cost of the way undocumented migrant workers are treated. The chorus, which is repeated several times throughout the song, emphasizes how these workers are often dehumanized even further through their process of deportation. They are no longer Juan or Rosalita, individuals with personal identities; they become "deportee," a label that strips them of their individuality and reduces them to mere statistics.
Overall, the song Deportee is a critique of the inhumane treatment of undocumented migrant workers in America. Parton's lyrics and melancholy melody force listeners to confront the ways in which our society can treat people as disposable commodities based on their immigration status.
Line by Line Meaning
The crops are all in and the peaches are rotting
Harvest season has ended and the crops have been gathered but the peaches are being abandoned and starting to decay
The oranges are piled in their creosote dumps
The oranges are being left in neglected places and not being taken care of
You're flying them back to the Mexican border
Someone is taking those who have completed their work contracts back across the border to Mexico
To pay all their money to wade back again
They have to spend all the money they have earned to come back again and continue working
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye Rosalita
The artist is saying farewell to their friends named Juan and Rosalita
Adios mis a-mi-gos, Jesus and Maria
The singer is saying goodbye to their friends named Jesus and Maria
You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane
They will be stripped of their identities and regarded only as deportees
All they will call you will be deportee
Their identity and worth will be reduced to their legal status of being deported from the country
Some of us are illegal and some of us are not wanted
Some workers are undocumented and some are not wanted anymore
Our work contract's out and we have to move on
Their contract has expired and they have to find other places to work
But it's 600 miles to that mexican border
The border is far and difficult to get to, particularly for those who may not have transportation
They chase us like outlaws, like rustlers, like thieves
The authorities are pursuing them and viewing them negatively, like they are criminals
My father's own father, waded that river
The singer's grandfather crossed the river to this country in the past
They took all the money he made in his life
The grandfather's earnings were taken away from him
My brothers and sister come work the fruit trees
The singer's siblings also work in the fields harvesting fruit
They rode the truck til' they took down and died
They worked until they were completely exhausted and passed away
The airplane caught fire over Los Gatos canyon
An airplane crashed and caught fire over a specific location in California called Los Gatos canyon
A fireball of lightning that shook all our hills
The crash caused a huge fire and lightning that could be seen by people nearby
Who are these dear friends all scattered like dry leaves
The singer is questioning who the victims of the airplane crash were
The radio said they were just deportees
The media and authorities referred to the victims only as deportees
No, all they will call you will be deportee
This line is repeated to emphasize the dehumanization and loss of identity experienced by those who are deported.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MARTIN HOFFMAN, WOODY GUTHRIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrDFlores702
First time listening to this song. It hit me like a ton of bricks. As a son of immigrants, this speaks to me on a level few can understand. Thank you Dolly.
@Chhana-eq3di
Any one listennig in 2019?
@Polavianus
Me😊
@maxmeggeneder8935
Now is THE time to listen to this great song!
@stilllaughing3959
@@maxmeggeneder8935 could not agree more best wishes from Scotland
@reneeb7258
<3
@marylalhmaa5585
Ngaithla ve chiang e
@swinedance
This song is 60 years old and not much has changed. That doesn't say much about our society, does it?
@LetThePoorStarve
getting worse
@abandonedchannel281
wE lIVe a SOceITy