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
Take Me Back
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the days forever gone
I can still remember Mama washing on a rub board
On the back porch, while us kids played in the yard
Mama always seemed to be so happy and content
She never seemed to mind that times were hard
She went about her work singin' some old favorite song of hers
And she was satisfied just bein' Mama to us children
And the only woman Daddy ever loved
Take me back to Mama's bosom
Back to Daddy's lovin' arms
Take me back, oh precious memories
To the days forever gone
I can still remember us a runnin' to meet Daddy
In the evening when his working day was done
When Daddy saw us comin' he would bend his tired old back
Holdin' out his arms, and into them we'd run
And he'd hold us for a minute, we'd all walk home together
While Mama waited for him at the door
And he was satisfied just bein' Daddy to us children
And the man my Mama lived her whole life for
Take me back to Mama's bosom
Back to Daddy's lovin' arms
Take me back, oh precious memories
To the days forever gone
Take me back, oh precious memories
To the days forever gone
In Dolly Parton's song "Take Me Back," the singer yearns to go back to her childhood and experience the love and warmth of her parents. She reminisces about her mother happily washing clothes on a rub board while the children played in the yard. Despite difficult times, her mother was content with being a mother and would sing favorite songs for her children. The singer also remembers how her father would come home from work tired but would still make time to hold and embrace his children.
The song represents the universal desire to return to a simpler time, to a place where we felt loved, safe, and understood. It is a song about the significance of simple acts of love, the importance of family and home, and how it shapes our identity. The lyrics are evocative of childhood nostalgia, and as Dolly Parton sings, she transports us back to a time where we felt the joy and comfort of our parents' embrace.
In conclusion, "Take Me Back" is a beautiful song that captures the essence of home and family. It reminds us of the importance of love, and the memories that shape us into the people we are today.
Line by Line Meaning
Take me back, oh precious memories
The singer wants to go back to relive her memories from the past.
To the days forever gone
The singer is referring to a time that has passed and can never be brought back.
I can still remember Mama washing on a rub board
The singer is reminiscing about her mother doing laundry on a scrub board.
On the back porch, while us kids played in the yard
The singer and her siblings used to play outside while their mother did laundry on the porch.
Mama always seemed to be so happy and content
The singer's mother appeared to be happy and satisfied, even in difficult times.
She never seemed to mind that times were hard
The singer's mother didn't seem to be bothered by the difficult times they were experiencing.
She went about her work singin' some old favorite song of hers
The singer's mother would sing while she did her work.
And often singin' favorite songs for us
The singer's mother would also sing songs for her children.
And she was satisfied just bein' Mama to us children
The singer's mother was content with being a mother to her children.
And the only woman Daddy ever loved
The singer's father only loved her mother.
Take me back to Mama's bosom
The singer wants to go back to her mother's embrace for comfort.
Back to Daddy's lovin' arms
The singer wants to be embraced by her father's love.
I can still remember us a runnin' to meet Daddy
The singer and her siblings used to run to meet their father when he returned home from work.
In the evening when his working day was done
The singer's father would come home in the evenings after working all day.
When Daddy saw us comin' he would bend his tired old back
The singer's father would stoop to pick up his children when they ran to him.
Holdin' out his arms, and into them we'd run
The singer and her siblings would run into their father's waiting arms.
And he'd hold us for a minute, we'd all walk home together
The singer's father would hug his children for a moment and then they would all walk home together.
While Mama waited for him at the door
The singer's mother would wait for her husband at the door.
And he was satisfied just bein' Daddy to us children
The singer's father was content with being a father to his children.
And the man my Mama lived her whole life for
The singer's father was the only man her mother ever loved.
Take me back, oh precious memories
The singer wants to relive the memories from her past.
To the days forever gone
The singer is referring to a time that has passed and can never be brought back.
Take me back, oh precious memories
The singer wants to relive the memories from her past.
To the days forever gone
The singer is referring to a time that has passed and can never be brought back.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DOLLY PARTON
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.