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
Holding on to Nothin'
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm so tired of holding on to nothin'
The years have shown no kindness for the hard times we've been through
We've squeezed the life from every dream and still go right on bluffin'
With really nothin' left to hold onto
Oh, why do we keep holding on with nothin' left to hold onto
I feel guilty when they envy me and you
We're holding on with nothin' left to hold onto
We were young and foolishly mistaken
Victims of a passion much too strong to be denied
With only tears to show for all the years that we've been fakin'
God only knows how long, how hard we tried
Oh, why do we keep holding on with nothin' left to hold onto
Let's be honest with each other, that's the least that we can do
I feel guilty when they envy me and you
We're holding on with nothin' left to hold onto
We're holding on with nothin' left to hold onto
Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner's song "Holding On To Nothin'" is a melancholic ballad that tells the story of a once passionate relationship that has now run its course, leaving the couple with nothing left to hold onto. The lyrics express the weariness of the couple in trying to maintain their relationship even though there is nothing left to salvage. The song speaks about the challenges that come with trying to hold on to something that is long gone.
The first verse emphasizes the futility of the couple's efforts to hold their relationship together. They have been through hard times, and their dreams have been squeezed out of them. The second verse talks about the couple's history, how they were once young and foolishly enamored with each other, but it left them with tears instead of happiness. The chorus is a plea to be honest with each other, to acknowledge that there is nothing left to hold onto in their relationship.
The song highlights how relationships, like most things in life, come with an expiry date. Holding on to something that is no longer there can be draining, and it's essential to let go and move on.
Line by Line Meaning
We're holding on with nothin' left to hold onto
We are trying to hold onto something that no longer exists, and we have nothing left to hold onto.
I'm so tired of holding on to nothin'
I am exhausted from trying to hold onto something that has no substance or meaning.
The years have shown no kindness for the hard times we've been through
We have experienced difficult times throughout the years, and those times have not been kind to us.
We've squeezed the life from every dream and still go right on bluffin'
We have given everything we have to our dreams but are still pretending that we have something left to give.
Let's be honest with each other, that's the least that we can do
We need to be truthful with each other, as that is the least we can do at this point in our relationship.
I feel guilty when they envy me and you
I feel guilty when others envy our relationship, as they do not understand the struggles that we face.
We were young and foolishly mistaken
We were young and made foolish mistakes that we now regret.
Victims of a passion much too strong to be denied
We were consumed by a passion that was too intense to resist or ignore.
With only tears to show for all the years that we've been fakin'
We have only tears to show for the years we spent pretending that our relationship was something it was not.
God only knows how long, how hard we tried
Only God knows how long and how hard we have tried to make our relationship work, despite the challenges and obstacles we have faced.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JERRY CHESNUT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gerishonmagadi8427
This song never grow old..when I listen to it I feel like being far from home..I love it
@JennyMulhenny
Their voices together give me chills.
@virginianyawira3299
It's been 10 draining years,,, nothing left to hold on to
@charlesarnold8337
Beautiful classic song!!
@francisgachira1236
Memories to rekindle.... shinning lyrics 🎧🎧🎧🎧
@giovannacapone400
Dolly is such a great song writer and what a voice!
@wilfredheggart647
i love this song it is my all time favourite
@jonijenkins8006
Duet perfection
@nehemiakirui2238
This song is like everything I own
@clifordkilogoshi1715
wow why should we continue to hold on when theres nothing to hold on to , plainly spoken and on point , this song gives me solace when I listern to it ...