What’s it like living as the focus of Parton’s 1973 hit? Women named Jolene tell all.
For Jolenes, it’s almost impossible to escape Dolly Parton’s country hit of the same name. Imagine placing an order at Starbucks or sitting in class, only to hear a stranger break into song as if you’re the main character in a musical. “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Joleeeene.”
So how does it feel to be a Jolene — especially now that Beyoncé has thrust them back into the national consciousness by covering the Parton hit in her album? They may not be green-eyed ginger hussies, but quite a few of them have morphed into Dolly Parton and country enthusiasts after a lifetime spent learning to embrace the fun brought on by their name.
Jolene Brighten, a 43-year-old naturopathic endocrinologist living in Puerto Rico, remembers feeling embarrassed by her name in her early teens. One time, she recalled, she slouched in her seat as a substitute teacher started singing “Jolene” during roll call.
But as Brighten got older, she started accepting the novelty of being Jolene.
“People get really excited and happy, and they’re singing the song,” Brighten said. “Even at like 17, 18, I was like, ‘This is more about them than it is about you, and they’re happy. Just let them ride with it. Just let them enjoy it.’”
Jolène Fender, 41, said that as a child in Canada, she sometimes went by a made-up name to avoid having to spell hers out, or repeat its French Canadian pronunciation. She loves it when her young daughter, Alexane, dedicates a performance of “Jolene” to her every time the family goes to a local kids karaoke night. But she has mixed feelings about the serenades from strangers.
“The amount of times that people just start singing when you introduce yourself is so awkward,” Fender said. “There’s some people that have a nice voice, but most people don’t. You’re like, ‘okay, thanks.’”
Over time, and especially now that she’s moved south to Raleigh, N.C., she’s embraced Parton’s influence on her name. She’s let people know that no, she doesn’t work a 9 to 5 and that yes, she’s aware of Dolly Parton’s free book program for kids.
Jolene Vargas, a 36-year-old content creator in Whittier, Calif., said a high school classmate, whose crush had fallen for Vargas instead, felt she fit the song a little too well and started using the nickname “Holene.”
Vargas took it in stride. She thought the insult was pretty clever, and she still enjoys the unspoken perks of her name. People always get a kick out of her wearing Dolly Parton T-shirts, and she had a lot of fans when she visited the country music hub of Nashville.
Many Jolenes are involuntarily kept abreast of the latest hit rendition of their namesake songs by people asking if they’ve heard it. The song has been covered by the White Stripes and countless other artists before Beyoncé. Jolene Fisher, a 31-year-old performer in Los Angeles, especially loves the acoustic cover sung by Miley Cyrus, Parton’s goddaughter.
Parton has said that the “Jolene” from her famous song is inspired by two people: a bank teller with red hair who seemed to have a crush on her husband, Carl Dean, and a pretty, red-haired, green-eyed girl named Jolene in the crowd at one of her performances.
In the 10th track of Beyoncé’s album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé doesn’t plead with Jolene to stay out of her love life, as Parton did. She warns Jolene instead, singing that Jolene has no shot at swiping Jay-Z from a “Creole banjee … from Louisianne.”
The day of the album drop, Parton praised the revamped version on social media: “Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it!”
Brighten appreciated the rendition: “It’s such a nod to Beyoncé being like, ‘I’m my own woman. I have my own style. Dolly’s also her own woman. I respect that, I love that, I admire her, and I also have my own spin and take on it,’” she said.
Vargas, too, disdains Parton’s redheaded homewrecker. “I do, however, wish that somebody would go the route of thanking Jolene for taking the trash out for them,” she added.
One of the paradoxes of being Jolene is that although your name has bopped its way into millions of brains, it’s much rarer to see on a birth certificate. Jolene peaked as the 245th most popular girls name the year after Parton released her song, in 1974, according to the Social Security Administration — sandwiched between Debbie and Juanita.
Fisher said she’s met fewer than 10 Jolenes in her life, but “that’s why it’s so cool when you do meet someone and they’re like, ‘I’m Jolene too,’” she said. “I love that it’s unique.”
“It’s an odd name,” said Jolene English, 26. She nevertheless had expected to see it on at least one souvenir when she visited Dollywood, Parton’s Tennessee theme park, in 2015.
Nothing. Not even a keychain.
