EXCLUSIVE: Dolly Parton Gives Her Take on Beyoncé’s Country Album

Dolly Parton’s praise of Beyoncé‘s “Jolene” cover is beautiful beyond compare.

And while this admiration is something fans can easily understand, the “9 To 5” singer recently shared why she appreciates Queen Bey’s new take on the classic for Cowboy Carter.

“Well, I think it was very bold of her,” Dolly told E! News’ Keltie Knight and Justin Sylvester during an exclusive interview at Dollywood’s new Dolly Parton Experience in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. “When they said she was gonna do ‘Jolene,’ I expected it to be my regular one, but it wasn’t. But I love what she did to it. And as a songwriter, you love the fact that people do your songs no matter how they do them.”

And she tips her hat to Beyoncé’s new lyrics.

“She wasn’t gonna go beg some other woman like I did,” the 78-year-old continued. “‘Don’t steal my man.’ ‘S–t, get out here, b—h. You ain’t stealin’ mine.’” (For more with Dolly, watch E! News on Monday, June 3 at 11 p.m.)
But if you’re still wondering what Dolly thinks of Cowboy Carter overall, she’ll have to have this talk with you so she can make her kudos clear.

“I was very proud of her album,” the 10-time Grammy winner added. “I thought she did a great job in country music, and I thought it was great. And I was just happy she did ‘Jolene.’ I, of course, would have loved to have heard how she would have done it in its original way. But of course, you know, it’s Beyoncé. Yeah, her life is different than mine.”
For Cowboy Carter, Dolly—who also showed some love on social media after the album’s release—recorded a message that plays right before “Jolene” titled “Dolly P,” and she’s featured on the song “Tyrant.”

And if you’re begging her, please don’t take out any details on her behind-the-scenes communication with Beyoncé, allow the “Here You Come Again” artist to share some insight.

“We communicated when the album came out, when I was doing some of the little things to put on the album,” Dolly said. “And we were sending each other flowers and little love notes and all that. So, yeah, it’s all good.”

So good, in fact, that she said she’d be up for performing “Jolene” with Beyoncé at the 2025 Grammys if Cowboy Carter gets nominated.

“Why of course I would—if I’m available, if I’m not caught up in something I cannot get out of, yeah, that’d be wonderful,” Dolly noted. “I mean, who wouldn’t wanna sing ‘Jolene’ with Beyoncé?”