Everyone knows the Dolly Parton classics, like “9 To 5” and “I Will Always Love You”. But what about those songs that don’t get half as much love? Here are four songs from Parton’s catalog that deserve more recognition.
“Me And Little Andy”
This sorrowful little tune appears on the Here You Come Again album. “Me And Little Andy” tells the tale of a young girl and her puppy dog showing up on a stranger’s doorstep. They’re looking for a place to spend the night. By the end of the tune, both the dog and the girl have gone to heaven.
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“I want to do a song for you now that’s kind of a special little song to me,” Parton once shared before a live performance of this track. “A lot of folks that follow my career know that I write a lot of sad songs and this one is absolutely pitiful…”
“My Tennessee Mountain Home”
This song is like a breath of fresh air and sounds like it’s a bit of a tribute to Parton’s own Tennessee Mountain Home. Listening to this one will make you want to have a little log cabin summer of your own.
Sitting on the front porch on a summer afternoon
In a straight back chair on two legs leaned against the wall
As I watch the kids playing with their June bugs on a string
And chase the glowing fireflies when evening shadows fall.
“Two Doors Down”
“Two Doors Down” is about getting over an old love the best way that you can, by meeting someone new at a party next door! This song chronicles Parton’s journey from her own apartment to her neighbor’s, and back with a new man. She cleverly admits by the end of the song, “We’re having our own party, two doors down.”
“Drinkin’ Stein”
Parton wrote this comedic song for the 1984 film Rhinestone, where she helps turn Sylvester Stallone into a country star. The film wasn’t super well received by critics, but this song is honestly pretty clever.
Budweiser you’ve created a monster
And they call him Drinkinstein
And the tavern down the street is the labba-tor-eye-ee
Where he makes the transformation all the time
And a stein of Dr. Bud is just a pint of monster blood
And it does affect him different every time
Budweiser you’ve created a monster
And they call him Drinkinstein
And they call him Drinkinstein.
Photo by: Richard E. Aaron/Redferns
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