After their impressive performance, the father-daughter duo return to the couch to talk to Elaine again, who announces that she’s giving them an all-expenses-paid trip to Dollywood in Tennessee. They also receive a gift basket from Ellen, which appears to contain a number of small gifts, all Dolly Parton related! What an exciting and wonderful time for the Burdick family. We are so happy that Violet was able to have this once in a lifetime experience.
In 2008, Parton discussed how she came to be “Jolene” in an interview with NPR. “One night, she was on stage and there was this sweet little girl, she was probably 8 years old at the time,” Parton said. And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking at me, holding, you know, an autograph. I said, ‘Well, you’re the most beautiful thing there is.’ I saw what’s your name? She said: Jolene. And I said, “Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. Jolene.” I said, “That’s beautiful. It sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about it.”
The story of the song comes from a real life experience when Parton realized that a bank teller had a crush on her husband, which became a joke between the couple. On the song’s tone, Parton added, “It’s really an innocent song, but it sounds like a terrible song.” Even though the song was released so long ago, it’s great to see that it’s still a favorite with kids today.
