"Coat of Many Colors" is a song written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

. It was released in September 1971 as the second single and title track from the album '' Coat of Many Colors''.

Background

She composed the song in 1969, while traveling with

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Po ...

on a tour bus. (She explained in her 1994 memoir, ''My Life and Other Unfinished Business'', because she could find no paper, as the song came to her, she wrote it on the back of a

dry cleaning Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a solvent other than water. Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known i ...

receipt from one of Wagoner's suits; when the song became a hit, Wagoner had the receipt framed.) She recorded the song in April 1971, making it the title song for her'' Coat of Many Colors'' album. The song reached #4 on the U.S. country singles charts.

Content

The song tells of how Parton's mother stitched together a coat for her daughter out of rags given to the family. As she sewed, she told her child the biblical story of

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

and his Coat of Many Colors. The excited child, "with patches on my britches and holes in both my shoes", rushed to school, "just to find the others laughing and making fun of me" for wearing a coat made of rags.

And oh I could not understand it, for I felt I was rich
And I told them of the love my momma sewed in every stitch
And I told 'em all the story momma told me while she sewed
And how my coat of many colors was worth more than all their clothes

The song concludes with Parton singing the moral of her story:

But they didn't understand it, and I tried to make them see
One is only poor, only if they choose to be
Now I know we had no money, but I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors my momma made for me

Missing final verse

On the original LP release of the 1975 compilation '' Best of Dolly Parton'', the printed lyrics to the song appeared in the inner gatefold of the album, including a final verse that has never been included on any of Parton's recordings of the song: :Through life I've remained happy and good luck is on my side. :I have everything that anyone could ever want from life. :But nothing is as precious as my mama's memory, :and my coat of many colors that mama made for me.

Original coat

Dolly says the original coat was used for various other purposes but her mother did make a new one to use on display in her Chasing Rainbows Museum at

Dollywood Dollywood is a theme park jointly owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Entertainment. It is located in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the gateway to The Great Smoky Mountains. Hosting nearly ...

. (Wagoner also donated the framed dry cleaning receipt - on which Parton composed the song - to the museum, where it now hangs.)

Interpretations by other artists

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the song on the 2003 Parton tribute album '' Just Because I'm a Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton'', with accompaniment by

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

and

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

. This version peaked at #57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart based only on unsolicited airplay. Other cover versions include a 1976 recording by Emmylou Harris on her Reprise Records debut ''

Pieces of the Sky ''Pieces of the Sky'' is the second studio album and major-label debut by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released on February 7, 1975, through Reprise Records. Although she had released the obscure folk-styled '' Gliding Bird'' fi ...

''; decades later, Harris performed the song live in 2017 for the

getTV getTV is an American digital multicast television network owned by the Sony Pictures Television Networks subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television. Originally formatted as a movie-oriented service, the network has since transitioned into a genera ...

special ''A Nashville Christmas''. A recording of the song by

Eva Cassidy Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first album ...

was released on the 2008 posthumous collection '' Somewhere''. Scottish comedian

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

recorded a version in 1975 on his album ''Get Right Intae Him'' (Unicorn Artists). This was a serious version unlike his comical song " D.I.V.O.R.C.E." which parodied "

D-I-V-O-R-C-E "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" is a song written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman, and recorded by American country music artist Tammy Wynette. It was released in May 1968 as the first single and title track from the album '' D-I-V-O-R-C-E''. Wynette's ve ...

", made popular by Tammy Wynette and also covered by Parton.

Melinda Schneider Melinda Schneider (born Melinda-Jane Bean; 7 October 1971) is an Australian country music singer and songwriter and radio host. Schneider has been performing since she was three and sang with her mother, the renowned yodelling country artist Mar ...

and

Beccy Cole Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, wi ...

covered the song on their album '' Great Women of Country'' (2014).

Legacy

In 2005, ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' ranked "Coat of Many Colors" number 10 on its list of 100 Songs of the South. A 1996

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

of the song, with illustrations by Judith Sutton, was published by Harpercollins Children's Books. In 2008, Kristy Lee Cook performed this song on ''American Idol'' during Dolly Parton Week. In 2011, Parton's recording was added to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." A

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

was broadcast in December 2015 by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, with Alyvia Alyn Lind as young Dolly. Lind reprised her role as young Dolly in the 2016 television movie sequel '' Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love''. In 2021, it was ranked at No. 263 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Chart performance

References

External links

Coat Of Many Colors lyrics at Dolly Parton On-Line
{{authority control 1971 singles 1971 songs Dolly Parton songs Museums in popular culture Songs written by Dolly Parton RCA Victor singles United States National Recording Registry recordings Songs about school Songs about poverty Song recordings produced by Bob Ferguson (musician) Songs based on the Bible Songs about bullying