The Joni Mitchell Album That Dolly Parton Said Would Scare Herself to Death if She Thought That Deep

Tried-and-true Southerner and country music icon Dolly Parton has always been one to speak her mind with a quick wit and kind spirit, and her hilarious reaction to listening to an album by Joni Mitchell is certainly no exception. Although the exact record varies depending on the account, Parton’s response remains the same.

Interestingly, Parton wasn’t the only Southern songwriter who seemed to offer Mitchell an impressed, albeit uncomfortable, “bless your heart” response to her music, particularly her 1970s work.

Dolly Parton’s Reaction To A Joni Mitchell Album

Memories are nothing if not fickle, which is likely why the story of Dolly Parton listening to a Joni Mitchell album alongside the Canadian singer-songwriter varies on the exact details.

According to an interview Mitchell did with Capital Radio in 1988, the album in question was Hissing of Summer Lawns. But in the liner notes for Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980), Mitchell had played Hejira for Parton. Mitchell released the albums within a year of each other. So, it’s likely that fading memory and creative crossover both play some part in changing accounts.

However, in either case, Parton’s reaction is consistent. In each story, Mitchell played Parton her album front-to-back. (Per the Archives retelling, Bonnie Raitt was also there.) Mitchell told Capital Radio, “[Dolly] said to me quite shyly after the record was played back, ‘My God, if I thought that deep, I’d scare myself to death.’”

Whatever the exact album was, it’s clear Mitchell harbored no ill will for Parton’s honest reaction. As she told the radio station in the late 1980s, “In order to write poetry, it’s an introspective process. Some of the process is indeed a little bit scary, you know.”

Another Southern Songwriter Had A Similar Reaction to ‘Blue’

As anyone who has grown up or lived in the South can attest, Southerners have a keen sense of how to tell a blunt truth without being disrespectful. Dolly Parton turned her commentary on Joni Mitchell’s music back on herself. She offered a somewhat self-deprecating deflection that she would never “think that deeply.” Fellow Southerner and songwriter Kris Kristofferson did the same thing.

In a 1996 interview with Acoustic Guitar magazine, Joni Mitchell revealed that after she played Kristofferson her 1971 album Blue, he replied, “God, Joan, save something of yourself.” Mitchell continued, “He was embarrassed by it. I think, generally, at first, that people were embarrassed by it. In a certain way, it was shocking, especially in the pop arena.”

“People [usually sing], ‘I’m bad, I’m bad, I’m great, I’m the greatest,’” Mitchell said. “It’s a phony business, and people accept the phoniness of it. It’s fluff, this week’s flavor. And it isn’t supposed to be anything really more than that.”

Of course, for Mitchell, her songwriting has always been more than that—an unwavering testament to her poetry that has challenged both her fans and her contemporaries for decades.

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