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
My Blue Tears
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fly as far as you can away from here
And let not your song fall upon my ear
Go spread your blue wings and I'll shed my blue tears
For the one that I have loved
He has left me and gone
And I am in no mood for to hear your sad song
Bring not your light into my dark room, yellow sunshine
Waste not your warmth on the cold glisten here
Oh, trouble me not, go ye elsewhere
Go light your blue sky and I'll shed my blue tears
For the only one that I have ever loved has gone away
And I am in no mood for the sunshine today
Go spread your blue wings
Go light your blue sky
And I'll shed my blue tears
Dolly Parton's song "My Blue Tears" depicts a woman who has lost the love of her life and is consumed with grief. The opening verse of the song is a call to a blue bird to fly away from the woman's window and not let its sorrowful song fall upon her ears. The woman is so overcome with sadness that she is unable to bear any more emotional pain.
In the second verse, the woman addresses the sun, asking it not to bring light into her dark room or waste its warmth on her cold heart. She pleads to be left alone in her suffering and to allow her to grieve in darkness. The chorus repeats the imagery of the blue bird flying away and the woman shedding her blue tears, acknowledging that the love of her life is gone and she is consumed by her grief.
The song conveys a sense of loss and heartache that is universal and relatable to anyone who has experienced the end of a significant relationship. It is a poignant reminder of how deeply love can affect us and how overwhelming it can feel when it is gone.
Line by Line Meaning
Fly away from my window little blue bird
Small bird outside my window, go away.
Fly as far as you can away from here
Fly afar from my view and presence.
And let not your song fall upon my ear
Your chirping will only make me sad, don't sing around me.
Go spread your blue wings and I'll shed my blue tears
Bird, you fly free while I'll cry.
For the one that I have loved
I once had a lover.
He has left me and gone
He's no longer with me, he left.
And I am in no mood for to hear your sad song
I'm too sad to listen to your songs.
Bring not your light into my dark room, yellow sunshine
Sun, don't brighten my gloom.
Waste not your warmth on the cold glisten here
Don't warm up this coldness in my heart.
Oh, trouble me not, go ye elsewhere
Please don't bother me, leave me alone.
Go light your blue sky and I'll shed my blue tears
You go enjoy your blue sky while I'll cry.
For the only one that I have ever loved has gone away
The only one I ever loved left me heartbroken.
And I am in no mood for the sunshine today
I'm too sad for sunny days.
Go spread your blue wings
Fly away bird.
Go light your blue sky
Enjoy the sky's blue color.
And I'll shed my blue tears
And I'll cry my own tears.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dolly Parton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Warrior Angel
He told me he loved me and I said I love you too
He said we will never part as he sang a love balled to me
We danced a waltz it was beautiful I was mesmerized as I
looked in his tense bluer than the sky eyes
Life has a way of slapping you in the face just as you
think you have it all figured out...
Even the heavens are crying for our pain we have
?I don't know if I'm strong enough to deal with this
for I just the one true love of my life He's a gift from above
no-one ever treated me as grand as he has
and to have him be taken away from me like my children
and my other loved ones really is devastating I know God
has His reasons yet it don't stop the fact that it hurts...………………...
Ruth music
Love this song!Love it when you sing bluegrass songs,Dolly!Done by the Trio in earlier years.
Lori Esters
Wow! Is that Suzanne Cox or Allison Krauss on backup vocals? Thank you Dolly. I love your music
Sarah Cary
Dolly is doing her own backing vocals to my ear
Tami
So delicate, just gorgeous.
JAYBIRDYATES
I LOVE THIS SONG LIKE A BIRD
Warrior Angel
He told me he loved me and I said I love you too
He said we will never part as he sang a love balled to me
We danced a waltz it was beautiful I was mesmerized as I
looked in his tense bluer than the sky eyes
Life has a way of slapping you in the face just as you
think you have it all figured out...
Even the heavens are crying for our pain we have
?I don't know if I'm strong enough to deal with this
for I just the one true love of my life He's a gift from above
no-one ever treated me as grand as he has
and to have him be taken away from me like my children
and my other loved ones really is devastating I know God
has His reasons yet it don't stop the fact that it hurts...………………...
Thangkhopao Touthang
My love song ❤🎶 my blue 💧tears😢
Dorgie Zc Hypocalyptus
Melancholy mood...
Maria Inês Aroeira Braga
So sweet,, melancholy, but very beautiful.
Maria Inês from Brèsil
tatonastro
Listen to the cover the Incredible String Band play and sing!! 👍