Entertainment4 min(s) read
Published 12:13 02 Apr 2024 GMT
Beyoncé's rewritten version of the hit song 'Jolene' by Dolly Parton has sparked a wave of reactions online - and everyone's saying the same thing.
The 42-year-old musician - dubbed as Queen Bey - released her latest album Cowboy Carter, which serves as the second installment in a potential trilogy following 2022's Renaissance.
The album, which the icon noted was "a Beyoncé album" rather than a country project, boasts a whopping 27-song tracklist, featuring collaborations with iconic names such as Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Willie Nelson, and more.
Just under 24 hours after its release, Spotify announced that the 32-time Grammy-winning artist's release became its most-streamed album in a single day for 2024 thus far.
The album features a whole host of surprises, including a cover of The Beatles' 1968 classic 'Blackbird,' which features a quartet of Black country singers: Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, and Tiera Kennedy.
There is also an updated version of Parton's 1973 classic 'Jolene,' which was complete with an interlude message from the 78-year-old singer-songwriter saying: "Hey Miss Honeybee, it's Dolly P. You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about? Reminded me of someone I knew back when, except she has flaming locks of auburn hair. Bless her heart."
In the original track, Parton is "begging" a woman whose "beauty is beyond compare" not to steal her man, while the 'Crazy In Love' songstress put her own spin on the track, belting: "Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I’m warning you, don’t come for my man… Don’t take the chance because you think you can."
This is a vast contrast from Parton's original lyrics which were: "Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I’m begging of you please don’t take my man … Please don’t take him just because you can."
Check out Beyoncé's 'Jolene' below:
Some people have criticized the lyrics in the revised version, claiming that it makes the song less meaningful.
One person on X (formerly Twitter) wrote: "I was so excited about ‘Jolene’ – I love Beyoncé, I love that song – but I don’t know how I feel about this. I’m not sure that 'Jolene' works when you take the pain out of it. If you’re not threatened by her, why are you plaintively singing her name repeatedly?"
Another agreed, sharing: "What makes 'Jolene' so visceral is that it’s a love song to the other woman, seeing her through prisms of desire, desire for the way she’s desired. I get that Bey is reclaiming power, but the song is about powerlessness: even if Jolene doesn’t take him, Dolly still loses."
A third user added: "'Jolene' is about the pleading, the desperation, the borderline homoe**ticism of it. You take all of that out? You’re replacing begging with warning? You stop talking about how hot Jolene is to talk about your man, your man, your man?? Ugh. Booo booo tomatoes."
Despite the critique, some are loving the change as one person praised: "I love Beyoncé’s version of Jolene because she wasn’t begging her, she was WARNING her. That’s my girl!"
A second chimed in: "I love the Jolene cover. I love the changes to the lyrics. It’d be so unlike her to be begging another woman over a beat."
"I’ve loved the OG Jolene forever and I knew Bey was NOT going to sing
Even Parton approved as she took to her social media to write: "Wow, I just heard 'Jolene'. Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it!"
Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter is expected to debut at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 while her reinterpretation of 'Jolene' is aiming for a top 10 debut on the Billboard Hot 100.
