"It's All Wrong, But It's All Right" is a song written and recorded by American entertainer

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 February 1978 as the second single from the album ''

Here You Come Again ''Here You Come Again'' is the nineteenth solo studio album by Dolly Parton. It was released on October 3, 1977, by RCA Victor. It was Parton's first album to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping a mil ...

''. (

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 196 ...

recorded a song by the same name, but with different lyrics on his 1968 album '' Take Time to Know Her''.) The song was Parton's seventh number one country single as a solo artist. The single stayed at number one for two weeks and spent a total of ten weeks on the country chart. The song was part of a double-A-sided single, " Two Doors Down"/"It's All Wrong, But It's All Right", and while "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right" was topping the country singles charts, "Two Doors Down" had been released to pop radio, where it would reach the top 20 on the U.S.

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

Content

In the song, the narrator calls a man whom she knows casually and suggests a one-time sexual encounter because she's lonely and "needs someone so much". In 1978, Parton—who'd had a previous song, "

The Bargain Store ''The Bargain Store'' is the fifteenth solo studio album by Dolly Parton. It was released on February 17, 1975, by RCA Victor. In the Parton-penned title track, one of her best-known compositions, she used worn, second-hand merchandise in a disc ...

", dropped by a number of country radio stations, when they mistakenly interpreted the lyrics as being sexually suggestive—explained to ''Playboy''s

Lawrence Grobel Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

, that she was surprised at country radio's willingness to play "It's All Wrong but It's All Right", given how sexually suggestive that song's lyrics, in fact, ''were''.:awrence Grobel, "A Candid Conversation with the Curvaceous Queen of Country Music", in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' nited States(October 1978), pp. 81-110

In popular culture

The song was featured in the 1979 drama film ''

Norma Rae ''Norma Rae'' is a 1979 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt from a screenplay written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton— which was told in the 1975 book ''Crystal Lee, a W ...

'', in which actress

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film F ...

won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Actress for her portrayal as Norma Rae Webster.

Chart performance

References

1978 singles Dolly Parton songs Songs written by Dolly Parton RCA Victor singles Song recordings produced by Gary Klein (producer) 1977 songs {{1970s-country-song-stub