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
Where Beauty Lives in Memory
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She stands before the mirror
Smiles at her reflection
Striking sexy poses in the glass
She paints her lips a brilliant red
Piles her hair high on her head
Struggles to replace a false eyelash
Paints her cheeks to match her lips
She wears a dress cut low in the front
Fittin' tight around her hips
And there inside her room
She stands and gazes at herself
Where beauty lives in memory
She lives in fairy tales
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who's the fairest of them all
She sings as she goes waltzing' cross the floor
She keeps a candle burning
And she waits for his returning
When beauty lives in memory
It lives forevermore
She was a fairy princess once
And was by all adored
They say she was the fairest of them all
They called her Cinderella
And they say that every fella
Would gladly answer to her beck and call
So the story went
They tell of how this handsome prince
Stole her heart and wandered far away
He took her heart and took her mind
Now she has lost all track of time
Forty years has passed and still she waits singing
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who's the fairest of them all
She sings as she goes waltzing' cross the floor
She keeps a candle burning
And she waits for his returning
When beauty lives in memory
It lives forevermore
Meanwhile back inside her room
The shads are pulled it's half past noon
But in her mind why it's forty years ago
She recalls the beauty of their love
She remembers he was beautiful
And of course she always knew she was
And so the past unfolds
And all at once inside her mind
She sees him at the door
And as he's leading her away
She feels the room begin to sway
Where beauty lives in memory
She falls dead upon the floor
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who's the fairest of them all
She sings as she goes waltzing' cross the floor
She keeps a candle burning
And she waits for his returning
When beauty lives in memory
It lives forevermore
The song "Where Beauty Lives in Memory" by Dolly Parton tells the story of a woman who is trapped in her own memories and her desire to cling onto her youth and beauty. In the first verse, the woman is getting ready, putting on makeup and a sexy dress, and admiring herself in the mirror. She sees herself as the fairy princess she once was, and is waiting for the prince to come and save her. As she waltzes across the floor, she keeps a candle burning and waits for him to return. However, she has lost all track of time and it has been forty years since she last saw him.
The woman's obsession with her own beauty and youth is what ultimately leads to her death. In the final verse, she sees the prince again, and as he leads her away, she feels the room begin to sway. In her own mind, her beauty lives forever in memory, but in reality, she has died alone and forgotten.
The song speaks to the idea that our desire to hold onto our youth and beauty can be dangerous, and that memories can both sustain us and lead to our downfall. It also touches on themes of loneliness, longing, and the passage of time.
Line by Line Meaning
She stands before the mirror
She looks at herself in the mirror
Smiles at her reflection
She likes what she sees in the mirror
Striking sexy poses in the glass
She poses seductively in front of the mirror
She paints her lips a brilliant red
She applies bright red lipstick to her lips
Piles her hair high on her head
She styles her hair in a high updo
Struggles to replace a false eyelash
She has difficulty putting on fake eyelashes
She powders up her face
She applies powder to her face
Paints her cheeks to match her lips
She applies blush to her cheeks that matches her lipstick
She wears a dress cut low in the front
She wears a dress with a low-cut neckline
Fittin' tight around her hips
The dress fits tightly around her hips
And there inside her room
She is in her room
She stands and gazes at herself
She looks at herself in the mirror
Where beauty lives in memory
Her idea of beauty is based on her memories
She lives in fairy tales
Her idea of beauty is based on fairy tales
Mirror, mirror on the wall
She speaks to the mirror like in the story of Snow White
Who's the fairest of them all
She wants to know who is the most beautiful
She sings as she goes waltzing' cross the floor
She dances and sings
She keeps a candle burning
She has a candle in her room
And she waits for his returning
She waits for the prince to return to her
When beauty lives in memory
Her idea of beauty is based on her memories
It lives forevermore
Her idea of beauty lives forever in her memory
She was a fairy princess once
She was like a fairy tale princess
And was by all adored
Everyone loved her
They say she was the fairest of them all
People thought she was the most beautiful
They called her Cinderella
She was called Cinderella like in the fairy tale
And they say that every fella
All the men liked her
Would gladly answer to her beck and call
They would do anything she asked
So the story went
This is how the story goes
They tell of how this handsome prince
The story goes that a handsome prince arrived
Stole her heart and wandered far away
The prince took her heart and left
He took her heart and took her mind
The prince took her heart and her mind
Now she has lost all track of time
She has lost her sense of time
Forty years has passed and still she waits singing
Forty years have passed but she is still waiting for him, singing to herself
Meanwhile back inside her room
In the meantime, she is still in her room
The shads are pulled it's half past noon
The shades are closed and it is midday
But in her mind why it's forty years ago
In her mind, it feels like forty years ago
She recalls the beauty of their love
She remembers how beautiful their love was
She remembers he was beautiful
She remembers how handsome he was
And of course she always knew she was
She always knew she was beautiful
And so the past unfolds
She remembers the past as if it was happening now
And all at once inside her mind
All at once in her mind
She sees him at the door
She sees the prince at the door
And as he's leading her away
The prince is leading her away from her room
She feels the room begin to sway
She feels like the room is moving
Where beauty lives in memory
Her idea of beauty is based on her memories
She falls dead upon the floor
She collapses and dies
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
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.