Retro Single Review: Dolly Parton, “Daddy Come and Get Me”

1970 | Peak:  #40

It’s interesting to note the stark contrast between the uplifting “glass-half-full”-type songs Dolly often favors today with the much darker fare she often recorded in the sixties and seventies.  “Daddy Come and Get Me” is one of Dolly’s most thematically distinct story-songs, telling of a woman placed in a mental institution by her cheating husband.

This record is a beautiful example of Dolly’s fine interpretive ability, particularly in performing her self-written material.  She gives a beaufitul vocal performance subtly conveying the desperation of the song’s character.  The real kicker is the spoken-word portion that comes halfway through the song.  The emotional quiver in her voice is heartbreaking as she softly implores “Daddy… come and get me.”

A flat and emotionless rendering of this lyric would have been more of an eyebrow-raiser than a tear-jerker, but it’s Dolly’s performance that really brings the sad story to life.

Written by Dolly Parton and Dorothy Jo Hope

Grade:  A

Listen:  Daddy Come and Get Me

2 Comments

  1. Songs like this is why I love country music! This si the first time I have heard this song, and it’s love at first listen!

  2. It’s a bit of a shame, though, that this song could barely break the Top 40 on the country singles chart; it deserved better. Dolly was a daring songwriter back in the day, and in a way that so very few of today’s female singer/songwriters are (IMHO).

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