"Light of a Clear Blue Morning" 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 ...

. The song first appeared on her 1977 '' New Harvest...First Gathering'' album, and provided a top twenty

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, ...

hit for her as a single. As Parton has told interviewers over the years, the song came out of the pain from her break with longtime musical and business partner

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 ...

. Parton left Wagoner's band in 1974, in an effort to aim her career in a more mainstream pop direction; Wagoner responded by taking legal action, and the next couple of years were reportedly painful for both performers. According to the unauthorized 1978 biography, ''Dolly'', by

Alanna Nash Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer. Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1950, Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books. She is a 1972 graduat ...

, "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" was written as Parton felt the figurative clouds lifting, as the fruits of her sacrifices of the previous few years were becoming apparent. Parton has recorded "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" three times. It was released as a single in March 1977 from the album ''New Harvest...First Gathering''. The song just missed the top ten on the U.S. country charts, peaking at number 11. Parton rerecorded the song to include in her 1992 film ''

Straight Talk ''Straight Talk'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Barnet Kellman and starring Dolly Parton, Jerry Orbach, Griffin Dunne and James Woods. Plot Shirlee Kenyon is a dance instructor living in Arkansas. Fired for giving advi ...

''; for this recording, she changed the lyrics of verse two. A third recording of the song appeared on an album of patriotic and religious songs Parton released in 2003 titled, '' For God and Country''.

Critical reception

Mark Deming of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

declared that, "'Light of a Clear Blue Morning', is a sophisticated piece of adult contemporary songcraft".

Chart performance

Covers and other appearances

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

covered the song on his 1991 album ''

Unconditional Love Unconditional love is known as affection without any limitations, or love without conditions. This term is sometimes associated with other terms such as true altruism or complete love. Each area of expertise has a certain way of describing uncon ...

''. American professional choir,

Conspirare Conspirare is a choral ensemble based in Austin, Texas. They were formed in 1991 by conductor and musical director Craig Hella Johnson as New Texas Festival but did not begin to regularly perform until 1999. They have released over 25 albums and ...

, covered it in 2009 live and for their album "A Company of Voices: Conspirare in Concert." The group's director,

Craig Hella Johnson Craig Morris Hella Johnson (born Craig Morris Johnson, June 15, 1962) is an American choral conductor, composer, and arranger. Life and career Johnson was born on June 15, 1962 in Crow Wing County, Minnesota to Morris Melvin Johnson (1929-2015) a ...

, created the arrangement for a cappella choir with

Tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria ...

. The arrangement has been published and has since been performed by many choirs around the world. The arrangement omits verse 2.

The Wailin' Jennys The Wailin' Jennys are a Canadian music group. They have released several albums and received two Juno Awards. The group has been featured several times on the American Public Media program ''A Prairie Home Companion'' and their album '' Firec ...

covered the song on their 2017 album '' Fifteen''.

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip ho ...

covered the song on the May 8, 2021 episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' as a Mother's Day tribute. Cyrus honored her godmother, Parton, during the tribute along with her own and the cast member's mothers. Morgan James covered the song in the May 14, 2021 airing of a PBS Special called ''We Are Family: Songs of Hope and Unity''.

Waxahatchee Waxahatchee is an American indie music project, formed in 2010 by American singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield (born 4 January 1989), previously a member of P.S. Eliot. The band is named after Waxahatchee Creek, in Alabama, where Crutchfield g ...

included the song in an extended version of her 2020 album '' Saint Cloud'', released to celebrate the album's one year anniversary with three cover songs added to the original track list.

References

External links

Light Of A Clear Blue Morning lyrics at Dolly Parton On-Line
{{authority control 1977 singles 1977 songs 1992 singles Columbia Records singles Dolly Parton songs Glen Campbell songs RCA Records singles Songs written by Dolly Parton

Critical reception

Chart performance

Covers and other appearances

References

Further reading

External links