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
In the Good Old Days
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We'd work in the fields till the sun had gone down
We've stood and we've cried as we have bristly watched
A hailstorm a' beatin' our crops to the ground
We've gone to bed hungry many nights in the past
In the good old days when times were bad
No amount of money could buy from me
No amount of money could pay me
To go back and live through it again
I've seen daddy's hands break open and bleed
And I've seen him work till he's stiff as a board
An' I've seen momma layin' in suffer and sickness
In need of a doctor we couldn't afford
Anything at all was more than we had
In the good old days when times were bad
We've got up before and found ice on the floor
Where the wind would blow snow through the cracks in the wall
And I couldn't enjoy then, havin' a boyfriend
I had nothing decent to wear at all
So I long for a love that I never had
In the good old days when times were bad
No amount of money could buy from me
The memories that I have of then
No amount of money could pay me
To go back and live through it again
In the good old days when times were bad
In the good old days when times were bad
In Dolly Parton's song "In the Good Old Days", she describes the hardships and struggles her family faced while growing up in poverty. The lyrics depict an era that was physically and emotionally draining but also one that has left a lasting impact on her life. The first verse talks about the arduous labor they went through growing crops, enduring hailstorms that destroyed their harvest, and sometimes going to bed hungry. It signifies the struggle that they went through to get by on a day-to-day basis. The chorus echoes that, even though those days were tough, she wouldn't trade the memories she has from those days.
The second verse talks about the physical toll that this life took on her family. Her dad's hands would break open and bleed from working so hard. Her mom needed a doctor they couldn't afford. The family couldn't afford to keep themselves warm, and Dolly couldn't even have a boyfriend because she had nothing decent to wear. These things further exemplified the hardships the family had to endure during the times they call "good old days."
Overall, the song reminds us that we should be grateful for the things we have today, even if they might seem like very little. It teaches us to value the incredible resilience that some people possess in times of extreme hardship.
Line by Line Meaning
We'd get up before sun-up to get the work done up
We would wake up before sunrise to begin our work for the day.
We'd work in the fields till the sun had gone down
Our work in the fields would continue until the sun set.
We've stood and we've cried as we have bristly watched
We have helplessly shed tears as we watched our crops being destroyed during a hailstorm.
A hailstorm a' beatin' our crops to the ground
A hailstorm crushed our crops and reduced our hard work to nothing.
We've gone to bed hungry many nights in the past
We had to sleep with hunger many nights in the past.
In the good old days when times were bad
These tough times are often idealized as 'good old days'.
No amount of money could buy from me
The intangible memories of those days are invaluable to me.
The memories that I have of then
The recollections of my past are precious.
No amount of money could pay me
Even if I were paid any amount of money, I wouldn't want to go back to those hardships.
To go back and live through it again
I don't want to relive those tough days again.
I've seen daddy's hands break open and bleed
I have witnessed my father's hands bleeding because of the hard work he had to do.
And I've seen him work till he's stiff as a board
My father worked extensively to the point of exhaustion.
An' I've seen momma layin' in suffer and sickness
I have seen my mother lying ill and suffering from various illnesses.
In need of a doctor we couldn't afford
Unfortunately, we didn't have the resources to pay for medical help.
Anything at all was more than we had
Everything was a luxury for us in those days.
We've got up before and found ice on the floor
On some mornings, we found ice on the floor due to the cold weather.
Where the wind would blow snow through the cracks in the wall
The cold wind would blow snow into our house through the cracks in the wall.
And I couldn't enjoy then, havin' a boyfriend
I couldn't experience the joy of having a boyfriend in those days.
I had nothing decent to wear at all
I didn't have any nice clothes at all.
So I long for a love that I never had
I longed for a love that I never actually experienced due to the hardships we faced.
In the good old days when times were bad
The hard times of our past were not actually 'good', but we still look back on them nostalgically.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DOLLY PARTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Vesterlyng
This is one of her absolute best....and that's aying something. What a great song and voice!
@littleogeechee223
Loved this song when I was just a little girl, at 63, still love it! Love Dolly!
@recan2074
I think I'm a year older than Dolly. I don't remember snow blowing through the cracks in the wall but I remember looking through the cracks in the floor and seeing the chickens walking around. Ahh the memories.
@kitnkabootles
and pecking your feet too
@clovis-ti1yv
I love Dolly’s voice. 1st time hearing this song. Born in 78. I’m a lifelong fan.
@marymarth7298
1963 for me and this song was my familys life to a T.
@VictorATTOH-ve9yu
I love Dolly
@merigoldsmith6352
memories make such a big chunk of our lives. these songs have helped me re-live my past and the longing gets more desperate. miss you Mai naBaba!
@maxwellkristen6
I LOVE Dolly. But I’d never heard this song. This perfectly describes my family life in Ringgold, GA. Even though I’m a millennial I was raised by grandparents that weathered the Great Depression. So things were a bit different for me than my friends lol
@msfanaddict
My Dad worked in the Harlan County Kentucky coalmines, for 30 + years. He worked until he was literally stiff. He couldn't even sit down in a chair when he came home. Many of Dolly's songs remind me of my family. Thank you for posting this song. Songs like this take me back..to the good old days, when times were bad.