Before recording her remix of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please,” Dolly Parton laid down some ground rules for the rising pop star: “I told her, I said, ‘Now, I don’t cuss, I don’t make fun of Jesus. I don’t talk bad about God, and I don’t say dirty words on camera, but known to if I get mad enough.’”
She revealed these lyrical boundaries in an interview with Tennessee outlet Knox News, where Parton discussed her collaborations with Carpenter, Beyoncé, and Miley Cyrus. Parton expressed praise for the similarly short-and-blonde Carpenter, though she did point out that the “Espresso” singer “can talk a little bad now and then.”
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Hence, Parton’s “no cussing” rule for Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” rework, which appeared on the deluxe version of her Short ’n Sweet album in February. Instead of Carpenter’s original line, “I beg you, don’t embarrass me motherfucker,” the duo sing, “I beg you, don’t embarrass me like the others.” While Carpenter has been known to dial up the raunch in her new era, Dolly’s rules are Dolly’s rules.
Elsewhere in her interview, Parton discussed how liberating it is for her to take on collaborations with so many exciting artists. “I love being able to have that freedom. I think freedom is a great word for everybody, anybody, in anything you do. Just having the freedom to work and the freedom to express yourself the way you want to. To do what you want to, go where you want to,” Parton said. “I think that’s been the greatest joy is just thinking, ‘Yay, Beyoncé wants to sing with me! She wants to sing my song!’ Yeah, absolutely. Which train do I get on that’s going to get me there the quickest?”
While Parton is expressing joy and gratitude for the open-door policies in her career, she’s also dealing with a major personal loss: Carl Dean, Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years, passed away this month. She commemorated their bond with the heartfelt ballad “If You Hadn’t Been There,” which we recently named as our Song of the Week. Parton then made her first public appearance since Dean’s passing last week, celebrating the opening of Dollywood for its 40th season.
Carpenter, on the other hand, is on the road in Europe right now supporting Short ‘n Sweet. The Grammy-winning star will make her way back to the US later this year for another run of North American tour dates, including a headlining appearance at Lollapalooza 2025. Get tickets to see Sabrina Carpenter here.
Content shared from consequence.net.