In 1966, the 20-year-old Dolly Parton married her boyfriend, a guy named Carl Dean. At the time, Parton was only just beginning her songwriting career. A year later, she found her first taste of fame, joining country star Porter Wagoner on his syndicated TV show. As Parton rocketed to stardom, she and Dean stayed together. He kept out of the spotlight and barely had any public profile, but she always spoke glowingly of him in interviews. (Parton's very silly 2023 album ROCKSTAR was apparently her gift to him, since he loved '70s rock.) Earlier this week, Parton announced that Carl Dean had passed away at the age of 83. Now, she's shared a song that she wrote for him.
In a statement to her fans that she posted on Instagram yesterday, Dolly Parton wrote, "He is in God's arms now and I am okay with that. I will always love you." Today, she shared her new song "If You Hadn't Been There." She didn't just write and record this song in the past few days. Instead, it's the closing song from her upcoming Broadway musical Hello, I'm Dolly. It's a huge, soaring love ballad about the invisible support that he gave her over the years: "I wouldn't be here if you hadn't been there/ Holding my hand, showing you care."
Obviously, Dolly Parton has always known how to write a song. This one, with its gospel-style backing vocals and with Parton's intimately grandiose delivery, would be throat-lump material even if she hadn't just lost the song's subject. Listen below.
