After Momma gave birth to twelve of us kids, we put her up on a pedestal. It was mostly to keep Daddy away from her.
Dolly PartonRead
In the early days, Porter Wagoner would not exactly scold me, but he's say, 'You're writing too many damn verses. You're makin' these songs too damn long.' And I'd say, 'Yeah, but I'm tellin' a story. I have a story to tell.' And he'd say, 'Well, you're not going to get it on the radio.' If I start writing a song, I'm writing it for a reason. People would say that I had to have two verses, and a chorus, and a bridge. I tried to learn that formula.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle between artistic expression and popular music standards.
In this quote, Dolly Parton recounts her experiences with Porter Wagoner, who advised her about the typical structures of songwriting. Despite his guidance aimed at improving her chances of radio play, she emphasizes her desire to tell stories through her music, illustrating the tension between commercial expectations and creative freedom in the art of songwriting.
Themes
SongwritingCreativityArtistic ExpressionStorytellingMusic
In practice
Example use cases
During a songwriting workshop, I shared Dolly Parton's quote to encourage others to embrace their unique storytelling style.
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