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
We Had All the Good Things Going
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We had a love few people know
And everything was going oh so fine
I trusted you, you trusted me
The way that it's supposed to be
But love slipped from us somewhere down the line
We had all of the good things going baby
Enjoying the taste of the good life
We all look for but few can find
It's gone but we can't understand
How luck could slip right through our hands
All down the line things seemed so very right
The love we shared through all these years
We both knew that we were sincere
Then suddenly it left just overnight
We had all of the good things going baby
You know we did, everything was fine
Enjoying the taste of the good life
We all look for but few can find
Now that we've gone our separate ways
I still recall those brighter days
Days that didn't seem so very long
Neither of us ought to blame
We overly know that it's a shame
And all that we had going now is gone
We had all of the good things going baby
You know we did, everything was fine
Enjoying the taste of the good life
We all look for but few can find
In Dolly Parton's song "We Had All the Good Things Going," the lyrics speak to the loss of a once beautiful and fulfilling love. The song reminisces about a love that was once strong and deep, a love that few people experience. The singer reflects on a time when everything was going well and they trusted each other completely. However, at some point, love slipped away from them and they are left trying to understand what went wrong.
The lyrics convey a sense of nostalgia for the way things used to be. The singer mourns the loss of the good life they once had together, filled with happiness and contentment. They express a desire to hold on to and understand the love they shared, but they are ultimately unable to prevent its disappearance. The love that once seemed so right suddenly vanished overnight, leaving them with a sense of disbelief and confusion.
As the song progresses, the singer acknowledges that they have gone their separate ways, but the memories of those brighter days still linger. They recognize that neither of them should be blamed for the loss of their love and accept that it is simply a shame that what they had is now gone. The lyrics depict a bittersweet acceptance of the end of a once beautiful relationship, with the lingering feeling that they had something truly special.
Line by Line Meaning
It wasn't very long ago
Not too much time has passed
We had a love few people know
We had a special kind of love that not many have experienced
And everything was going oh so fine
Everything was going extremely well
I trusted you, you trusted me
There was a mutual trust between us
The way that it's supposed to be
In the way that a relationship should be
But love slipped from us somewhere down the line
However, our love started to fade away at some point
We had all of the good things going baby
We had a great relationship with many positive aspects
You know we did, everything was fine
We both knew and felt that everything was going well
Enjoying the taste of the good life
We were relishing the pleasures and joys of a happy relationship
We all look for but few can find
We all seek such happiness, but only a few are fortunate enough to find it
It's gone but we can't understand
Although it is no longer present, we cannot comprehend why
How luck could slip right through our hands
How our luck and good fortune disappeared so suddenly
All down the line things seemed so very right
Throughout the course of our relationship, everything seemed to be perfect
The love we shared through all these years
The love we had for each other during all the time we were together
We both knew that we were sincere
Both of us were aware of the genuineness of our feelings
Then suddenly it left just overnight
Suddenly, the love disappeared abruptly in a short span of time
Now that we've gone our separate ways
Since we have chosen different paths in life
I still recall those brighter days
I still remember the happier times we had
Days that didn't seem so very long
Those days didn't feel as if they were fleeting
Neither of us ought to blame
Neither of us should be held accountable
We overly know that it's a shame
We are well aware that it is unfortunate
And all that we had going now is gone
And everything we had together has now vanished
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MONDAY SHINER
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.