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
Rocky Top
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Down in the Tennessee hills
Cause there ain't no smog, no smoke on Rocky Top
Ain't no telephone bill
Now but once I had me a man on Rocky Top
Half bear the other half cat
Well, he was wild as a mink but he was sweet as soda-pop
Oh, Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee, Rocky Top, Tennessee
Now once two strangers climbed ol' Rocky Top
Lookin' for a moonshine still
Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top
And some say they never will
Did you know corn don't grow at all on Rocky Top?
The dirt's too rocky by far
And that's why all the folks on Rocky Top
Get their corn from a jar
Oh, Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee, Rocky Top, Tennessee
Now I've had years of cramped up city life
Trapped luck a duck in a pen
All I know is it's a dad-burn pity
Life can't be simple again
Oh, Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee, Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Tennessee, Rocky Top
Dolly Parton's song "Rocky Top" is a tribute to the beauty and simplicity of life in the Tennessee hills, particularly on Rocky Top. The opening lines express a desire to be on Rocky Top, where there is no smog or smoke, and no need to pay a telephone bill. These lines capture the utopian vision of Rocky Top, a place where life is free from the daily stresses and distractions of the modern world.
The following verse tells a story about a man whom the singer once knew on Rocky Top. He was part bear, part cat, and though he was wild, he was also sweet. This verse highlights the rough and rugged character of life on the mountain, where people live in close contact with nature and must be strong to survive. The chorus then returns to the idea of Rocky Top as home sweet home, a place where the heart always longs to be.
The next verse tells a story about two strangers who climbed Rocky Top looking for a moonshine still. They never came down, and some say they never will. This verse adds an element of mystery and danger to the song, underscoring the fact that life on Rocky Top is not always as idyllic as the singer makes it out to be. The final verse addresses the singer's own experience of city life, which she describes as cramped and confining. This verse emphasizes the theme of returning to a simpler, freer way of life.
Overall, "Rocky Top" is a celebration of the beauty and ruggedness of mountain life, as well as a longing for the simplicity and freedom that it represents.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I wish that I was on old Rocky Top
The singer wants to be on the Rocky Top hills in Tennessee
Down in the Tennessee hills
The Rocky Top is situated in the hills of Tennessee
Cause there ain't no smog, no smoke on Rocky Top
Rocky Top does not have pollution or smoke
Ain't no telephone bill
The singer will not have to pay a telephone bill on Rocky Top
Now but once I had me a man on Rocky Top
The singer had a lover on Rocky Top once
Half bear the other half cat
Her lover was wild and unpredictable
Well, he was wild as a mink but he was sweet as soda-pop
Her lover was both wild and sweet
I often think about that
The singer remembers her lover fondly
Oh, Rocky Top, you'll always be Home sweet home to me
Rocky Top is a special and beloved place for the singer
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top is a good place, filled with fond memories
Now once two strangers climbed ol' Rocky Top
Two strangers went to Rocky Top to search for a moonshine still
Lookin' for a moonshine still
They were searching for a place where illegal liquor was brewed
Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top
They may have never come back from their search, maybe because they got lost or met with some kind of trouble
And some say they never will
It is rumored that the strangers who went to Rocky Top never returned
Did you know corn don't grow at all on Rocky Top?
The soil at Rocky Top is rocky, which makes it unsuitable for growing corn
The dirt's too rocky by far
The soil at Rocky Top is extremely rocky and unfit for growing crops
And that's why all the folks on Rocky Top get their corn from a jar
People in Rocky Top buy their corn in the form of moonshine
Now I've had years of cramped up city life
The singer has spent many years living in a crowded and busy city
Trapped luck a duck in a pen
The singer feels confined and restricted, like a duck trapped in a pen
All I know is it's a dad-burn pity Life can't be simple again
The singer laments the complexity of modern life and misses the simplicity of Rocky Top
Tennessee, Rocky Top
The Rocky Top is in Tennessee
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Bryant Boudleuaux, Felice Bryant
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@championskyeterrier
It's a hell of a song, that makes you feel something for a place you aren't from and people you've never met.
@theadvocate2782
So true. I feel the same way about this song and the West Virginia song. "Country road take me home to the place I belong. West Virginia, mountain momma, take me home country road." Knowing full well that I'm a city girl🌃😁
@thepunditspundit1776
6 years in Rocky Top here. Love that place
@SHANKDAWGBABY
Kentuckian here to confirm.
@SHANKDAWGBABY
@@theadvocate2782 as a Kentucky boy I'll have to agree.
@denniscalhoun5156
@@SHANKDAWGBABY Pure Southern HOSPITALATY
@Hollowsmith
Dolly Parton has one of the most precise voices in the history of American music. No matter what type of music you're into, listen on the bridges all those little warbles and notes she puts into every vocal. And the personality and storytelling conveyed. She's an absolute treasure to Appalachian music culture.
@ThatkidwithCP
She's a mastermind of melody and harmony.
@dragosaurusrex600
As a born and bred Tennessee child and a rocky top baby, everything about this song you imagine, the beating of your heart as the banjo plays, the beauty of the mountains, the best moonshine in all of the US, the place will always be a home.
@fuzzynuts8129
she's a brilliant lady. real classy. makes me proud to call Tennessee my home.