Later in the interview, Parton spoke of her mother, who she says was a good singer and would sing songs like “Bury Me Beneath the Willow Tree” acapella at home.
Parton, who has a new album out called A Holly Dolly Christmas, also wrote a pandemic-themed song called “When Life is Good Again.” She told Colbert, “I felt really glad to write that,” noting that it is uplifting with lyrics like, “When life is good again, I’ll be a better friend, a better person.”
“I can’t wait for this year to be over, can you?” Parton exclaimed.
Colbert wouldn’t let Parton leave without naming her top three songs from her own body of work. “The Coat of Many Colors” was Parton’s first pick, with the singer noting that it is about her mother and about family, acceptance, tolerance, and also speaks to bullying.
“All singers like to have a song that you can sing tender and then go big,” said Parton, naming “I Will Always Love You” as the second choice.
And for the last, she summoned the tune “Down From Dover,” a lesser known track about a girl that got pregnant and had to leave home and live on a farm. “Back when they released it [in 1970], they wouldn’t put it on the radio,” said Parton, joking that now you can practically have a baby on television.
Parton concluded, “Most of the songs I love the best are ones no one has ever heard.”
This article originally appeared in THR.com.
