#COUNTRY SONG BAR WOMAN CHEATING HOW TO#
#COUNTRY SONG BAR WOMAN CHEATING SKIN#
#COUNTRY SONG BAR WOMAN CHEATING FULL#

In the end Cam’s narrator admits that both women are victims, ‘ How could we be such fools?’Ĭam has spoken about Jolene’s influence on Diane saying, ‘ It’s the reverse of what Dolly did, but I definitely feel that Dolly has done such a good job with keeping that so vulnerable, she’s pleading with the other woman instead of being angry and that’s what’s similar in ‘Diane.’ I didn’t want it to be angry or about slut-shaming or bashing other women. It’s a thoughtful and honest interpretation of what you might think and feel in such a predicament.

#COUNTRY SONG BAR WOMAN CHEATING HOW TO#

The beat is frenetic, mimicking the heartbeat of the narrator who is panicking about how to make it up to Diane. The name ‘Diane’ is repeated in a similarly pleading way to how Jolene’s name is sung by Dolly. ‘ I promise I didn’t know he was your man,’ she sings. In the video for the song the ‘Jolene’ character arranges to meet ‘Diane’ in order to apologise and make amends. On Dolly’s song we are never quite sure if the man has cheated or not, but in Cam’s interpretation they had an affair but Jolene didn’t know the man was married. The most recent of the songs on this list is Diane from lovely Cam, who like Jennifer Nettles casts herself as an innocent and apologetic Jolene. When she found out there was somebody else, she called and told her that it wasn’t really her fault…That idea presented itself of ‘What if it was Jolene calling?” Nettles’ connection with Dolly doesn’t end there, as she recently appeared onscreen playing her mother, Avie Lee Parton, in the Coat of Many Colors movies. It wasn’t intended that way, as the concept was saying ‘I don’t want to end up being that girl.’ This woman has obviously been bamboozled, and it wasn’t her plan going in. Jennifer Nettles explained the connection in an interview with Billboard magazine, “ This song has kind of ended up being ‘The Ballad of Jolene’. Cam would go on to use this exact premise for her response too, both songs challenging the listener’s expectations and sympathies. The rest of the song imagines Jolene calling up the girl and explaining it was an honest mistake and she didn’t want to be a home wrecker or be known as ‘ that woman’.

This is one of the few songs which directly reference Dolly’s character, making the connection between the songs clear. Soon she realises her mistake, turning the Jolene lyrics on their head, It wasn’t my name on his lips / No he didn’t call for me / he didn’t say Jolene. In this song, the narrator is caught out by the lying, cheating man, just the same as the narrator. Later in her career she would return to the Jolene scenario in her solo recording ‘ That Girl’. The first was the heartbreaking acoustic Sugarland ballad ‘ Stay’ where the Jolene character begs the man not to leave and return to his girlfriend. There are two songs in Jennifer Nettles career which make reference to the story of Jolene. Here is a brief list of songs, some which are written in direct response to Jolene, others which just echo this modern classic but all of which owe a debt to Dolly.

#COUNTRY SONG BAR WOMAN CHEATING SKIN#

And the title character is so vividly drawn, with her ‘ flaming locks of auburn hair…ivory skin and eyes of emerald green’ that you can’t help wanting to know more about Jolene’s story. We sympathise with the narrator because everyone has doubted themselves or felt that stab of jealousy when your beloved notices another. But it is the characters that Dolly created who really make this song so iconic. Partly what makes this song memorable is the simplicity of that repeated use of Jolene, sung over thirty times and the ominous beat underneath.

#COUNTRY SONG BAR WOMAN CHEATING FULL#

Jolene connected with listeners because it was a nakedly vulnerable song, full of fear, desperation, panic and even paranoia. Of course this song has generated endless cover versions from artists as wide ranging as The White Stripes, Reba McEntire, Strawberry Switchblade and Olivia Newton John but what I’m interested in is how Jolene has inspired the songwriting of others. After writing my recent post about Dolly Parton’s 1974 album Jolene, I thought I would delve a little deeper into the title song and contemplate its influence on country music and beyond.

Country song bar woman cheating