Dolly Parton has revealed her reimagined rendition of Tom Petty’s song “Southern Accents” for the forthcoming compilation, Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty.
The song features a prologue delivered by the late Tom Petty himself describing how the moment of inspiration that led to “Southern Accents.” Dolly Parton then provides an emotional, stirring rendition of the song, kept at the same balladeer tempo as Petty’s original. She retains much of the song, though she adds a crucial change to the song’s latter third when belting “Yes I’m proud to be what I am/ A southern girl from a southern town/ I ain’t ashamed, I ain’t ashamed, I ain’t ashamed.”
“I was fortunate enough to get to know Tom [Petty] over the years,” Dolly Parton says in a statement. “He’s such an iconic artist and important songwriter. I’m so honored to be a part of this special album and to be able to share my version of one of Tom’s best songs, ‘Southern Accents.’”
The song also arrives with a music video directed by Trey Fanjoy. Parton sings in a room featuring Petty’s old instruments, lyric books, and show costumes, all while home videos of Petty from all ages play in the background. Watch the video of Parton’s “Southern Accents” cover below.
“Southern Accents” follows Dierks Bentley’s cover of “American Girl,” the first offering from Petty Country. The covers compilation features renditions of Tom Petty songs from artists like Lady A, Chris Stapleton, Carly Pearce, Willie and Lukas Nelson, Luke Combs, and Brothers Osborne. The album is out on July 21st via Big Machine. See the album’s official artwork and tracklist below.
After dropping the sprawling rock album Rockstar last year — and its deluxe version in January — Dolly Parton has been choosing her projects carefully. She’ll appear on the Glen Campbell duet album Ghost on the Canvas (another reimagining covers album courtesy of Big Machine Records) on April 19th, and recently was given a full writing credit for Beyoncé’s rendition of “Jolene” on the recently-released Cowboy Carter. Revisit our cover story on Dolly Parton last year, which features an interview conducted by Paramore’s Hayley Williams.
Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty Artwork:
Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty Tracklist:
01. “I Should Have Known It” by Chris Stapleton
02. “Wildflowers” by Thomas Rhett
03. “Runnin’ Down A Dream” by Luke Combs
04. “Southern Accents” by Dolly Parton
05. “Here Comes My Girl” by Justin Moore
06. “American Girl” by Dierks Bentley
07. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Lady A
08. “I Forgive It All” by Jamey Johnson
09. “I Won’t Back Down” by Brothers Osborne
10. “Refugee” by Wynonna Judd & Lainey Wilson
11. “Angel Dream No. 2” by Willie Nelson & Lukas Nelson
12. “Learning To Fly” by Eli Young Band
13. “Breakdown” by Ryan Hurd feat. Carly Pearce
14. “Yer So Bad” by Steve Earle
15. “Ways To Be Wicked” by Margo Price feat. Mike Campbell
16. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Midland
17. “Free Fallin’” by The Cadillac Three feat. Breland
18. “I Need To Know” by Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives
19. “Don’t Come Around Here No More” by Rhiannon Giddens feat. Silkroad Ensemble and Benmont Tench
20. “You Wreck Me (Live)” by George Strait