Dolly is still going strong, while Porter died of lung cancer in October 2007.
There is a Porter Wagoner Boulevard in his home town of West Plains, Missouri.
The party
Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Came in and asked if they could go this time
We told them little girls and boys don't belong at parties
And that they should be in bed asleep by nine
The babysitter came in then and we kissed the kids goodbye
And told them that we'd be home soon and told them not to cry
Then we left for the party like we'd so often done
Thinkin' only of ourselves and not our little ones
With drinking laughing teling dirty jokes nobody thinkin' of home
Then the stranger feeling came over me and it chilled me to the bones
And I told my wife that we'd better leave the party
Cause I felt that we were needed at home
As we rode along I got to thinking of how the kids that mornin'
Had asked if we would take them to church the next day
And how I'd put 'em off like I'd so often done
By sayin' we'd probably get home too late
Then my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sirens
As they cut through the still night air
Then we turned down our street that's when we saw the fire
The rest was like a nightmare
We took their little bodies to church the next day
Though we'd left the party early we still got home too late
The song "The Party" by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton tells the story of a couple who go out to a party, leaving their young children at home with a babysitter. They dismiss their children's desire to join them at the party, and instead, head out for a night of fun, not realizing the grave mistake they've made. As the party goes on, they realize that they are needed at home, but it's too late. They return home to find their house on fire and their children dead.
The lyrics beautifully illustrate the tragic consequences of neglecting parental responsibilities in the pursuit of pleasure. It highlights the importance of understanding the impact our actions have on those around us, especially our loved ones. The song serves as a reminder to prioritize family and loved ones above all else.
Line by Line Meaning
As we were dressing to go out our little girl and boy
As we were getting ready to go out, our kids came in and asked if they could come too.
Came in and asked if they could go this time
The kids came in and asked if they could join us.
We told them little girls and boys don't belong at parties
We said that kids are not supposed to go to parties.
And that they should be in bed asleep by nine
We said that they should be in bed by nine o'clock.
The babysitter came in then and we kissed the kids goodbye
The babysitter arrived and we said goodbye to our kids.
And told them that we'd be home soon and told them not to cry
We told them not to cry and said that we would be home soon.
Then we left for the party like we'd so often done
We began our night out at the party as usual.
Thinkin' only of ourselves and not our little ones
We were only thinking about ourselves and not our children.
The party started out wild and it grew wilder as the night wore on
The party began wild and got even wilder as the night went on.
With drinking laughing teling dirty jokes nobody thinkin' of home
Everyone was drinking, laughing, and telling dirty jokes with no one thinking of home.
Then the stranger feeling came over me and it chilled me to the bones
Suddenly I had an unusual feeling that made me really scared.
And I told my wife that we'd better leave the party
I suggested to my wife that we should leave the party.
Cause I felt that we were needed at home
I felt that we needed to be home for some reason.
As we rode along I got to thinking of how the kids that mornin'
On our way home, I began thinking about how our kids had asked to go to church that morning.
Had asked if we would take them to church the next day
They had asked us if we could take them to church the following day.
And how I'd put 'em off like I'd so often done
I remembered how I had brushed them off like I had done many times before.
By sayin' we'd probably get home too late
I had said that we would probably come home too late to take them to church.
Then my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sirens
Suddenly, I was interrupted by the sound of sirens.
As they cut through the still night air
The sound of sirens was piercing through the quiet night air.
Then we turned down our street that's when we saw the fire
As we turned onto our street, we saw that there was a fire.
The rest was like a nightmare
The rest of the night felt like a never-ending nightmare.
We took their little bodies to church the next day
The next day, we had to bring our children's lifeless bodies to church.
Though we'd left the party early we still got home too late
Despite leaving the party early, we still arrived home too late.
Contributed by Levi T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bukurie
It is pleasure to hear Po🌟rter Wagoner and Dol🌟ly Parton😍🌏🙏
Dion
Nobody could do those sad recitations like Porter Wagoner and Red Sovine. Another good one that's sad like this is Joeys Old Things, by Jimmy Gateley. He also has a good one called, She Wants To Be Like You. I knew Jimmy Gateley's brother when I was a boy.
Jason Halverson
reminds me of something that happened when i was young. a relative of my dad's lost 6 kids in a fire while they were away! 😢
Floren York
I remember mom always listening to this as I was child
Jim Watson
Reminds me of a similar situation when I was a kid. Sad Memory.
Heather emc
Holy crap! I love Dolly but....I don't... It's just...how did this....what???
Amanda Hayes
This song has a meaning that life is short spend as much as possible there a fire years ago that loss of small children lives parents weren't home at a party baby sister was killed also from electric fire sad song but true
Jamie Kimsey
Wow😭😭😭😭
Patrick Carney
Gruesome
ciscokid25
morbid song