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
He
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And all the windows fastened down
I spent the night in sleeplessness
And rose at every sound
Half in hopeless sorrow
And half in fear the day
Would find the soldiers breaking through
To drag us all away
And just before the sunrise
I heard something at the wall
The gate began to rattle
And a voice began to call
I hurried to the window
Looked down into the street
Expecting swords and torches
And the sound of soldiers' feet
But there was no one there but Mary
So I went down to let her in
John stood there beside me
As she told me where she'd been
She said they've moved Him in the night
And none of us knows where
The stone's been rolled away
And now His body isn't there
So we both ran towards the garden
Then John ran on ahead
We found the stone and empty tomb
Just the way that Mary said
But the winding sheet they wrapped Him in
Was just an empty shell
And how or where they've taken Him
Was more than I could tell
Oh, something strange had happened there
Just what I did not know
John believed a miracle
But I just turned to go
Circumstance and speculation
Couldn't lift me very high
'Cause I'd seen them crucify Him
Then I saw Him die
Back inside the house again
The guilt and anguish came
Everything I'd promised Him
Just added to my shame
When at last it came to choices
I denied I knew His name
And even if He was alive
It wouldn't be the same
But suddenly the air was filled
With a strange and sweet perfume
Light that came from everywhere
Drove shadows from the room
And Jesus stood before me
With His arms held open wide
And I fell down on my knees
And I just clung to Him and cried
Then He raised me to my feet
And as I looked into His eyes
The love was shining out from Him
Like sunlight from the skies
Guilt in my confusion
Disappeared in sweet release
And every fear I'd ever had
Just melted into peace
He's alive, yes, He's alive
Yes, He's alive and I'm forgiven
Heaven's gates are open wide
He's alive, yes, He's alive
Oh, He's alive and I'm forgiven
Heaven's gates are open wide
He's alive, He's alive
Hallelujah, He's alive
He's alive and I'm forgiven
Heaven's gates are open wide
He's alive, He's alive, He's alive
I believe it, He's alive
Sweet Jesus
The lyrics to the song He by Dolly Parton describe the experience of one of Jesus' disciples on the day of his resurrection. The song describes a sense of fear and hopelessness as the singer spends the night anxiously waiting for the soldiers to come and take them away. However, their terror turns to astonishment when Mary explains to them that Jesus' body is no longer in the tomb where he was buried. The singer and John go to see the empty tomb and find that it is just as Mary had said. Confusion continues to reign because they cannot understand how or where Jesus' body has gone. However, the climax of the song comes when Jesus appears before the singer who falls down to his knees in awe and crying. Jesus then raises him up and forgiveness fills his soul in a moment of sweet release from his fears.
The song is a powerful telling of the transformation experienced by one of the disciples. It portrays the anxiety and despair that gave way to astonishment and then to the miracle of the resurrection. The song emphasizes the importance of faith, hope, and the overwhelming love and forgiveness of God.
Line by Line Meaning
The gates and doors were barred
All the entrances to the house were locked and secured
And all the windows fastened down
All the windows were shut tightly
I spent the night in sleeplessness
I couldn't sleep all night
And rose at every sound
I woke up at every little noise
Half in hope of sorrow
I was hopeful, but also fearful of the worst possible outcome
And half in fear the day
Half of me was scared of what the day would bring
Would find the soldiers breakin' through
I was afraid that soldiers would come and forcefully take us away
To drag us all away
I feared that they would take us away from our home
And just before the sunrise
It was the time just before the sun was about to come up
I heard something at the wall
I heard a noise by the wall
The gate began to rattle
The gate at the entrance was shaking
And a voice began to call
I heard someone calling out
I hurried to the window
I rushed to the window to see what was happening
Looked down into the street
I looked down at the street from the window
Expecting swords and torches
I thought that there would probably be soldiers with weapons and torches
And the sound of soldiers' feet
I expected to hear the sound of soldiers marching
But there was no one there but Mary
There was only Mary standing there at the gate
So I went down to let her in
I went to open the gate for her
John stood there beside me
John was standing next to me at the gate
As she told me where she'd been
Mary told us where she had been and what she had seen
She said they've moved Him in the night
She said that Jesus had been moved during the night
And none of us know where
We didn't know where He had been taken to
The stone's been rolled away
The stone that was covering the tomb had been moved away
And now His body isn't there
Jesus' body was not in the tomb
We both ran towards the garden
Mary and I ran towards the garden where the tomb was
Then John ran on ahead
John ran ahead of us
We found the stone and empty tomb
We found the stone moved and the tomb empty
Just the way that Mary said
Everything happened just like Mary had told us
But the winding sheet they wrapped Him in
The cloth that was wrapped around Jesus' body
Was just an empty shell
Was lying there empty
And how or where they'd taken Him
I didn't know how or where they had taken Jesus
Was more than I could tell
I couldn't figure out what had happened to Him
Oh something strange had happened there
Something very strange had happened in the tomb
Just what I did not know
But I didn't know what it was
John believed a miracle
John believed that a miracle had taken place
But I just turned to go
But I didn't believe it and I just walked away
Circumstance and speculation
All the things that had happened and people's theories and guesses
Couldn't lift me very high
Didn't make me feel any better or more hopeful
'Cause I'd seen them crucify Him
Because I had seen Jesus being crucified
Then I saw Him die
And I had also seen Him die
Back inside the house again
I went back inside the house
The guilt and anguish came
I felt guilty and anguished inside
Everything I'd promised Him
All the things that I had promised Jesus
Just added to my shame
Made me feel even more ashamed
When at last it came to choices
When I had to make a decision
I denied I knew His name
I denied that I even knew Jesus
And even if He was alive
Even if Jesus was still alive
It wouldn't be the same
Things would never be the same again
But suddenly the air was filled
All of a sudden the air was full
With a strange and sweet perfume
There was a sweet and strange scent in the air
Light that came from everywhere
There was light all around
Drove shadows from the room
The light made all the shadows disappear
And Jesus stood before me
And then I saw Jesus standing in front of me
With His arms held open wide
He had His arms open wide, ready to embrace me
And I fell down on my knees
I fell to my knees
And I just clung to Him and cried
And I hugged Him and cried
Then He raised me to my feet
Jesus lifted me up
And as I looked into His eyes
As I looked into His eyes
The love was shining out from Him
I could see the love emanating from Jesus
Like sunlight from the skies
It was like sunlight, bright and warm
Guilt in my confusion
All the guilt and confusion that I felt
Disappeared in sweet release
Suddenly disappeared and I felt free
And every fear I ever had
All my fears and worries
Just melted into peace
Just disappeared and I felt peaceful
He's alive yes He's alive
Jesus is alive
Yes He's alive and I'm forgiven
He's alive and I have been forgiven
Heaven's gates are open wide
The gates of heaven are wide open
Oh He's alive and I'm forgiven
Jesus is alive and I have been forgiven
Heaven's gates are open wide
The gates of heaven are wide open
He's alive He's alive
Jesus is alive
Hallelujah He's alive
Praise the Lord, Jesus is alive
He's alive and I'm forgiven
Jesus is alive and I have been forgiven
Heaven's gates are open wide
The gates of heaven are wide open
He's alive He's alive He's alive
Jesus is alive, He's alive, He's alive
I believe it He's alive
I believe that Jesus is indeed alive
Sweet Jesus
A term of endearment for Jesus
Lyrics © CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Don Francisco
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
dennis farabee
I have an urge to run out of my house shouting HE'S ALIVE!
Daisy Wilkerson
Amen
Atthecross
Glory to the Lamb of God!
Angie Clark
DO IT!!!!! And don’t stop!!!
🌸Gracey Gal🌸
Take your meds hun
Eagle Arrow
Still love it today. She has not given up her faith and an example to those who are gifted in music & are Christians! She is amazing.
❤🎵🎶
Sophie Neudorf
Yeah love how when she sings songs like that it just fills the house with joy
Candy Ryan
Thank you God for all you do for me... And thank you for Dolly!
Tricia Brown
I cry every time I hear this. Such a blessing!!🌷💕
Lucas Ribeiro
@Repent Rapture is near We're crying in sync.