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
You Can't Reach Me Anymore
Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You say I'm not the girl that you remember
You say that I hve changed so much and you can't seem to rach me
Well you destroyed everything I used to be before and you can't reach me anymore
I was looked up to you while you were looking down
It used to turn me off inside when you would turn me down
Now you want the love from me that you destroyed before
But you can't reach me anymore
I used to love you that way now I don't feel a thing
The love that once lived in my heart don't live there anymore
And you can't reach me anymore
I was looked up to you while you were looking down
It used to turn me off when you would turn me down
Love that once lived in my heart it don't live there anymore
And you can't reach me anymore oh oh oh no you can't reach me anymore
The song, "You Can't Reach Me Anymore," by Dolly Parton, is about a woman who has transformed and moved on from a past relationship. The song is addressing her former lover who is trying to win her back. However, she has already moved on and is no longer the same person that he once knew. She has been hurt and changed by him, and he cannot reach her anymore.
The lyrics represent a transformation from a dependent and submissive woman to an independent one. The singer describes how she used to look up to her ex-lover, but she eventually realized that he was constantly turning her down. She expresses her frustration with how her former lover is now trying to win her back after destroying the love she had for him. The singer is telling her ex-lover that he has lost her forever and cannot reach her anymore. The line "love that once lived in my heart don't live there anymore" shows that she is moving on and will not allow her ex-lover to hurt her again.
Dolly Parton's song is about empowerment, moving past hurtful relationships, and finding oneself. It shows how one can learn and grow from past relationships and become a better and stronger person. It is a reminder that no one can control or bring down an individual that has transformed, moved on, and rebuilt themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
You can't reach me anymore
I have moved on and you no longer have an emotional hold on me.
You say I'm not the girl that you remember
You are having trouble understanding the changes I have gone through and the person I have become.
You say that I hve changed so much and you can't seem to rach me
You are struggling to connect with me because you no longer understand who I am.
Well you destroyed everything I used to be before and you can't reach me anymore
Your actions have caused me to change and become someone new, and you can no longer reach me in the same way.
I was looked up to you while you were looking down
I used to admire you while you looked down on me with a condescending attitude.
It used to turn me off inside when you would turn me down
Your rejection of me used to hurt me deeply and turn me off from wanting to be close to you.
Now you want the love from me that you destroyed before
You want my love now after causing it to be lost before due to your actions.
But you can't reach me anymore
Despite your desire to reconnect, you are no longer able to have the same influence over me.
Now you say you love me more than anything
You claim to love me now above anything else, but I no longer feel the same way towards you.
I used to love you that way now I don't feel a thing
I had strong feelings of love for you in the past, but now those emotions have faded away.
The love that once lived in my heart don't live there anymore
The feelings of love that I once had for you are no longer present in my heart.
And you can't reach me anymore oh oh oh no you can't reach me anymore
You are no longer able to have the same level of emotional influence over me as you once did, and I have moved on from our past relationship.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DOROTHY OWENS, 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.