In Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” the singer desperately pleads to a beautiful woman not to try anything with her man, because Parton will never be able to win against her. Beyoncé doesn’t have time for that. On her new album Cowboy Carter, Bey sings a reworking of the Parton classic, but in her version there is no polite asking — there’s threatening. And Miss Dolly herself is her backup. “Hey, Ms. Honey Bee, it’s Dolly P.,” she says in an interlude. “You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about? Reminded me of someone I knew back when, except she has flaming locks of auburn hair, bless her heart. Just a hair of a different color, but it hurts just the same.”
While Parton sang, “I’m begging of you please don’t take my man,” Beyoncé opts for, “I’m warning you, don’t come for my man.” But that doesn’t even crack the top 10 lyrics on this song that should make that hussy Jolene walk away. There’s, “You don’t want this smoke so shoot your shot with someone else,” and “I’m still a Creole banjee bitch from Louisiana’” and “Your peace depends on how you move, Jolene.” At this point, Jolene should probably walk away if she knows what’s good for her. After all, Beyoncé is the same woman who cautioned, “My daddy said shoot.” Jay-Z isn’t worth it, Jolene.
