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
One Emotion After Another
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's just one emotion after another
They will dress themselves as angels and thieves
They will make you believe you're in heaven
Then they'll drag you through hell on your knees
It's just one emotion after another
One day I'm up just as high as it goes
I do love you baby but we can't get along
With or without each other it's al right or it's all wrong
It's hard to determine where the balance should be
We swear It's forever while we're packing to leave
Each time we end it I swear never again
But the minute you come knockin' I can't wait to let you in
It's just one emotion after another
They will dress themselves as angels and thieves
They will make you believe you're in heaven
Then they'll drag you through hell on your knees
It's just one emotion after another
It's been that way since lovim' began
Like an ocean love flows with it's highs and it's lows
Like the tide it just goes out and in
It's just one emotion after another
It's just one emotion after another
But I guess that's just the way that it goes
Love is rainbow and rain, Love is pleasure and pain
I cannot stay the same I suppose
But I love you and that's all I know
In Dolly Parton's song "One Emotion After Another," she reflects on the highs and lows of being in love. She compares love to a roller coaster ride, where one day you're up and the next you're down. The emotions associated with love can be both angelic and devilish, and they make it difficult to determine the right balance.
The lyrics suggest that love is unpredictable and can be both a blessing and a curse. While we may swear it's forever, we end up packing to leave when things get tough. However, the minute our loved one comes knocking, we're ready to let them back in. It's this back and forth that makes love so complicated and exhilarating.
The chorus reinforces the theme that love is an ever-changing emotion. It comes in waves and can take us to both the heights of heaven and the depths of hell. But despite the uncertainty, Dolly sings, "I love you, and that's all I know." This final line acknowledges that while love may be fickle, it's worth it in the end.
Line by Line Meaning
It's just one emotion after another
Love is unpredictable and constantly changing, with highs and lows. Emotions come one after the other and we can't control them.
They will dress themselves as angels and thieves
Emotions can deceive us, making us feel like we're experiencing something good (like being with an angel) or bad (like being stolen from).
They will make you believe you're in heaven
Emotions can make us feel like we're experiencing something amazing, like being in heaven.
Then they'll drag you through hell on your knees
However, those same emotions can drag us through difficult times, making us feel like we're in hell and helpless to do anything about it.
One day I'm up just as high as it goes
One moment we may feel so in love and on top of the world, like we couldn't be any happier.
Next day I'm down to the lowest of lows
But just as quickly, we can feel like we've hit rock bottom and can't feel any worse.
I do love you baby but we can't get along
Even though we may love someone deeply, our emotions and differences can get in the way of us being able to make things work.
With or without each other it's alright or it's all wrong
Regardless of whether we're together or apart, things can be good or bad depending on the situation and our emotions.
We swear It's forever while we're packing to leave
Even though we may be planning to leave a relationship, we can convince ourselves that it's forever and we'll never go back.
Each time we end it I swear never again
After a breakup, we may swear off getting back together again and think we're done for good.
But the minute you come knockin' I can't wait to let you in
However, when our emotions are in control, we may quickly forget our promises and let that person back into our lives.
It's hard to determine where the balance should be
It can be difficult to find a balance between the different emotions we feel and the extremes we can swing between in a relationship.
It's been that way since lovin' began
Love has been unpredictable and full of emotions since the beginning of time.
Like an ocean love flows with its highs and its lows
Love can be like the waves of an ocean, with peaks and valleys that ebb and flow.
Like the tide it just goes out and in
Love can also be like the tide, coming in and going out in a natural, cyclical way.
But I love you and that's all I know
Even though we may not understand the complexities of love and emotions, we know that we love the person we're with and that's what matters most.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Romy K.
on Gypsy Joe And Me
As a matter of fact she's contemplating suicide standing on the bridge, that's how they'll be together again.