Dolly Parton was recently a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert where she discussed her new coffee table book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, which is out next month, along with her forthcoming Christmas album.
At one point, Parton began singing ‘Bury Me Beneath the Willow’, a traditional folk song that depicts a young woman being left at the altar by her fiancée, with the woman asking to be buried underneath the willow tree in hopes he will still think of her.
The a cappella performance had such an effect on Colbert that the late night host began to get a little weepy.
.@DollyParton sings “Bury Me Beneath The Willow” and I think somebody is cutting onions. ? #LSSC pic.twitter.com/zoUmBN77vZ
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) October 21, 2020
“So, I better hush before you cry yourself to death and you can’t finish the show,” Parton remarks. Colbert laughs while wiping his eyes, saying, “Like a lot of Americans, I’m under a lot of stress right now, Dolly. You got under my tripwire right there, I’ll tell you. That was pretty beautiful.”
Parton also discussed her favourite songs she’d written, citing the title track to her 1971 album Coat of Many Colors as her number one. ‘I Will Always Love You’, ‘Down from Dover’ and ‘Jolene’ all get a mention too.
Watch Parton’s full conversation with Colbert below.
