In March 2023, an elementary school in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, pulled a song recorded by Dolly Parton and goddaughter Miley Cyrus that was set to be performed by first-grade students. Released on Cyrus’ sixth album Younger Now, “Rainbowland” was deemed too “controversial” by the school board and was removed from the grade students’ spring concert repertoire for possibly being interpreted as an LGBTQ anthem.
Co-written by Parton, Cyrus, and producer Oren Yoel, the lyrics signal unity over division and embracing one another’s differences: Every color, every hue / Let’s shine on through / Together, we can start living in a Rainbowland.
“It’s really about if we could love one another a little better or be a little kinder, be a little sweeter, we could live in rainbow land,” said Parton of the song in 2017. “It’s really just about dreaming and hoping that we could all do better. It’s a good song for the times right now.”
Decades earlier, Parton faced similar backlash by radio when she released a string of songs during the late 1960s through mid-’70s that were also considered too controversial for the airwaves at the time.
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“Evening Shade” (1969)
For someone who came across so bubbly, My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy, Parton’s fourth album, had several more dismal tales, from her cover of the Mac Davis-penned 1969 Elvis Presley classic “In the Ghetto” and “Daddy,” written from a child’s perspective on how men often left their family for a younger woman, to “Gyspy Joe and Me,” the dismal tale of a girl who ends her life after losing her boyfriend and her dog.
Written by Parton, “Evening Shade” didn’t receive much radio support. The song tells the story of abused children at an orphanage, headed by a cruel headmistress, who decide to burn the place down while their mean matron is inside.
My train of thought was broken by a sudden burst of laughter
Something badly needed to brighten up the chores
Seemed old Mrs. Bailey had accidentally fell
In the water being used to scrub the floors
Now, Mrs. Bailey was the meanest matron at the home
She believed in lots of work with little play
And we laughed till we bent double
Though we knew we’d get in trouble
But trouble’s all we had at evening shade
Now, evening shade was where they claim to teach you understanding
To teach you love and keep you off the streets
And all the kids that live here are said to be a problem
Juvenile delinquents, so to speak
But understanding isn’t learned from punishment and anger
An iron has no gentle touch, and love ain’t learned from hate
The reason we were here is ’cause we had no one who cared
But they cared even less at evening shade
“They thought it was going to incite violence or something,” said Parton of the song in 2023. “I don’t write songs thinking like that. I come up with all of these stories. They make good movies in my mind when I write. They paint pictures.”
“Down From Dover” (1970)
Parton’s fifth album, The Fairest of Them All, peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and featured another song considered taboo that didn’t receive much radio love. “Down From Dover” tells the story of an unwed young woman rejected by her family and lover after becoming pregnant. The story takes a sad turn as the narrator delivers her stillborn child.
At the time of its release, having a child out of wedlock was a taboo subject, and“Down From Dover,” which prompted Parton’s mentor, Porter Wagoner, to warn her that the song may never make it on the radio. He was right. Some DJs refused to give the song a spin when it was released in 1970.
“Back at the time when I put it out on a record, they wouldn’t play it on the radio,” said Parton. “Lord, now you can have a baby right on television. It’s all different.”
My folks weren’t understanding when they found out
They sent me from the home place
My daddy said if folks found out
He’d be ashamed to ever show his face
My mamma said I was a fool
She did not believe it when I told her
Mamma, everything would be all right
Soon, he will be coming down from Dover
I found a place to stay out
On a farm takin’ care of that old lady
She never asked me nothin’
So I never talked to her about my baby
I sent a message to my mom
With a name and address of Miss. Ol’ Grover
And to make sure he got that information
When he came down from Dover
Since its release, “Down From Dover” was covered by Skeeter Davis in 1970, Nancy Sinatra, and Lee Hazlewood in 1971. Marianne Faithfull also covered the Parton song “Down From Dover” on her 2008 covers album, Easy Come, Easy Go, while Parton’s younger sister Stella even took a stab at it in 2016. Parton also re-recorded the song in 2001 for her album Little Sparrow.
Along with “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You,” “Down From Dover” remains one of Parton’s favorite songs in her catalog. “I really love some of my songs like that,” she said, “that tell stories.”
“The Bargain Store” (1975)
The title track of Parton’s fifteenth album, “The Bargain Store,” was misinterpreted as a “vulgar” song, when it was a story about finding love again after a loss. “There was a song I wrote years ago called ‘The Bargain Store,’ and nobody played it on the radio because they were acting like I was implying something else,” recalled Parton. “I’m saying, come inside my heart. I’m talking about a broken heart and how we can put the pieces back together if we’re willing to try,” she said.
Parton continued, “I thought that was one of my most clever songs, and it’s still one of my favorites,” she added. “But at that time, they were saying it was vulgar, and I was saying something else. The bargain store is open. Come inside. You get it.”
My life is likened to a bargain store
And I may have just what you’re looking for
If you don’t mind the fact that all the merchandise is used
But with a little mending, it could be as good as new
Why you take for instance, this old broken heart
If you will just replace the missing part
You would be surprised to find how good it really is
Take it, and you never will be sorry that you did
The bargain store is open. Come inside
You can easily afford the price
Love is all you need to purchase all the merchandise
And I can guarantee you’ll be completely satisfied
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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