A Songwriting Accident Turned Into One of Dolly Parton’s Biggest Hits in 1977

In 1977, Dolly Parton released “Here You Come Again“. The title track of her album, which was also released in 1977, was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.

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One of Parton’s biggest hits, “Here You Come Again” stayed at the top of the charts for five weeks. The song begins with, “Here you come again / Just when I’ve begun to get myself together / You waltz right in the door / Just like you’ve done before / And wrap my heart ’round your little finger.”

Ironically, those lyrics, which helped make the song so successful, actually came from a mistake, after Weil accidentally erased part of the original lyric.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I made one up,” Weil recounts to Songfacts. “I made up the melody and the lyric. When [Mann] came back, I sang it to him. He said, ‘That’s not my opening line, but I like yours better.’ We kept it.”

Before the song was pitched to Parton, it was given to Brenda Lee, who ultimately passed on the feel-good tune. It became Parton’s first major pop hit as well.

Why Dolly Parton Was Worried About Recording “Here You Come Again”

Now, “Here You Come Again” remains one of Parton’s most revered songs. But at the time, the country star admits she was initially worried about releasing “Here You Come Again”.

“She said a monkey could sing this song and have a hit with it,” Parton’s manager, Sandy Gallin, tells Andy Cohen. “She was very nervous that it would turn off the country market, which she was very loyal to. There was no way she wanted to ever let anything insinuate that she may be turning her back on the country audience.”

Gallin was so convinced “Here You Come Again” was a big hit, he made a deal with Parton.

“If the song is not No. 1 country and No. 1 pop, I never get into your music again,” Gallin recounts telling Parton. “I said, ‘I’ll bet it’s No. 1.’ She said, ‘You’re sure of this?’ I said, ‘I’m positive.’”

“Here You Come Again” did not hit No. 1 on the pop charts. Still, it did land in the Top 5. Her first pop hit came in 1980 with her “9 to 5” single.

“Here You Come Again” is about not being able to walk away from someone, even though the relationship isn’t healthy. The song says, “Here you come again / Just when I’ve begun to get myself together / You waltz right in the door / Just like you’ve done before / And wrap my heart ’round your little finger.”

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