On this day, August 25, 2026, in honor of Dolly Parton.
Dolly Parton was present, front and center, in our home growing up. The Porter Wagoner Show with Porter and Dolly lit up our television every time it aired. Our dad loved Dolly Parton. I recall one Father’s Day buying him a poster of Dolly sitting in Daisy Dukes surrounded by bales of hay. Of course, it stayed in the closet from day of purchase, but it's the thought that counts.
Dolly’s angelic voice echoed throughout our house often with her albums playing on the big console stereo in our living room. I too loved Dolly and would sing every song. As a child, my first friend and I would sing to all her little nieces and nephews on an old steel glider. She was Crystal Gayle and I was Dolly Parton. I would always sing “Jeanie’s Afraid of the Dark” the little ones as our audience.
Years passed and my parents long gone, having bought our family home, one Saturday, I was feeling nostalgic and I thought about the old albums playing on the stereo. One of my favorites was “Touch Your Woman” by Dolly Parton. Rather than go rummaging through all the albums, I turned to Amazon music. Sure enough, there was the album. With a click of each song link, I sang at the top of my lungs. After all these years, I still knew the words to every song. Then, I came to one title that did not ring a bell. I couldn't recall the tune. So, I clicked the link.
No sooner had the song started, the tears began to flow. I felt pain in my chest. It was heavy. It was that ugly kind of crying that takes your breath. I could not stop. Oh yes, I knew the song, every single word. I don't know if my mind tried to forget, but my heart knew it, intimately.
After all these years, memories stirred that were so intense that I had to know more about this song. I wondered if and why Dolly, as beautiful of a writer as she was, had written this song.
I did some digging and found the song was written by a songwriter by the name of Joe Babcock or “Cowboy Joe” as he was referred to. I found an article in a Franklin, Tennessee newspaper titled “Hee Haw” star shares musical journey, calls Franklin home by Austin Thompson, Staff Writer. It was a great article! I had to reach out!
To my delight and surprise, Austin Thompson replied to my email and told me Cowboy Joe was not only a Franklin resident but a member of his church! He told me he would like to pass the email along to him as he knew it would mean a lot to him. My heart was full.
The song is beautiful and meaningful. Dolly’s voice emotes a depth of sincerity that only she could, a true storyteller heart and soul, making it a song that every teenage girl should listen to. So incredibly touching. And to think the song was written by a man, what a man he must be. Thank you, Dolly, and Cowboy Joe. It is a song I can never forget again. The song is titled “Love Isn’t Free” and I hope you will take a listen.
~Lacy Gray
