Jolene

“Please don’t take him just because you can,” is a lyric from the Song “Jolene “ by Dolly

Parton and covered by The White Stripes. The lyric emphasizes the plea of the singer towards

the song's beautiful “antagonist” Jolene, who has enraptured the singer's husband. The song is

about a wife, her husband, and the red-haired beauty, Jolene, interested in her husband. In the

song the wife begs Jolene to not take her husband. While Dolly Parton's original video of

“Jolene” focuses on the softer insecurity and the plea of the wife for Jolene not to take her man,

The White Stripes version is a gripping, angry plea for Jolene not to go to the husband.

Dolly Parton is a country singer who sung “Jolene” in 1973 on the Porter Wagoner Show. Her

fans range from all ages. The name of the song was taken from one of Dolly Parton's young fans,

a redheaded girl named Jolene. While the name was taken from a fan, the inspiration was from a

situation in Dolly’s life. At the time her husband was being flirted with by a redheaded bank

teller that Dolly felt was far more beautiful than her. The song exemplifies this insecurity as the

lyrics focus on Jolene’s beauty and Dolly’s pleas for Jolene not to take her husband even though

she can.

In Dolly’s music video of “Jolene” she sings in front of a country-esque background adorning a

colorful dress. As she sings the camera focuses on her face. Although the atmosphere looks

bright and happy Dolly’s facial expressions and simple hand fiddling tell a different story. She

has almost a saddened look in her face in between the gentle smiles throughout the video, as if
she is reminiscing about the feelings she had from the situation of the bank teller and Dolly’s

husband.

The White Stripes are an American Rock band. They sung the cover of “Jolene” on stage in

Blackpool, England. The lyrics have not changed in their version, but the context has in order to

incite more emotion with the lead singer, Jack White. Jack stated that he changed the context of

Jolene being his girlfriend and straying from him with his friend in order to get into the emotions

of the song. Dolly Parton even stated that “[The White Stripes] did one of the greatest versions

ever of ‘Jolene.’” This version of the song is a seething mix of rage and raw love of begging

Jolene not to stray expressed through the vocals and instrumentals.

The White Stripes video is shot on an old camera giving a grungy look. The dark stage sets the

tone for a far more edgy tone. It is a stark contrast from the brightness of Dolly’s video, but the

outward plea is still the same. Jack’s voice is far louder as he practically screams out. Meg holds

the tempo perfectly through it all allowing Jack’s voice to carry through. This duo of vocals and

instrumental create the emotions so well as they work together to convey the hurt and

desperation of this cover.

The lyrics may be the same in both these versions, but they vary drastically. Not only is the

genre different but the force of the vocals, background, and the conveying of the song. Dolly

sings in a much softer and controlled voice through the song. The White Stripes deliver an

angrier and louder tone to the song. However, Dolly Parton and The White Stripes both use the

same rhetorical appeal for this song. The rhetorical appeal they use is Pathos, a common appeal

when it comes to music videos.

 Dolly uses this appeal through her facial expressions and hand gestures. As her version is much

meeker than The White Stripes cover of her song it can be harder to notice these simplistic

movements. At moments she holds a small smile, but then as she sings a new line, she holds a

sadder face almost barely noticeable. In the few seconds you can see her hands she is fidgeting

with them, whether that be just nervousness towards her audience or vulnerability in those

moments.

The White Stripes use this appeal through Jacks voice and Meg’s drum tempos. Jack sings with

an almost broken voice and it becomes more apparent of the pain as his voice becomes louder,

practically shouting. Meg only helps to amplify this as she creates a wonderful tempo speed

through the song along with Jack’s guitar. The two are perfectly synced and it creates a world of

emotions to everyone in the song.

Whether you like Dolly Parton’s original of “Jolene” or The White Stripes version there is one

thing that these drastically diverse music videos have. The pain of loving someone and being on

the cusp of possibly losing them as you must beg for them no to be taken away.
Work Cited

Tom Vitale. “Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ Still Haunts Singers.” NPR, 9 October 2008,

https://www.npr.org/2008/10/09/95520570/dolly-partons-jolene-still-haunts-singers. Accessed

27 June 2021.

Megan Elliot. “Dolly Parton Once Had This to Say About The White Stripes’ Powerful Cover Of

‘Jolene’.” Cheatsheet. 17 October 2020, https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dolly-parton-

once-had-this-to-say-about-the-white-stripes-powerful-cover-of-jolene.html/. Accessed 27 June

2021.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXlULkwhgrc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m71Jbi7NkU