Dolly Parton Promotes New Book of Songs With Tear-Jerking 'Late Show' Performance

Enduringly beloved pop culture figure and country singer Dolly Parton is releasing a new coffee table book that explores her legendary life and career in the music industry. With never-before-seen photos and backstories from some of our favorite tunes, Parton provides a behind-the-scenes look, encompassing her six decades worth of songwriting, placing a spotlight on 175 of her most influential songs. 

To promote the upcoming lyrical memoir, Parton appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on October 20 to discuss the new project. She dissected her personal history with songwriting, acknowledging the crucial role her mother played. Sharing that her mother would sing folk songs to Parton when she was young, she explained how the melodies were typically rooted in storytelling. A favorite of her mother’s was the melancholy anthem "Bury Me Beneath the Willow," which the country icon has performed time and time again, including one memorable rendition on the Dolly Show with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt back in the mid-'70s.

“It was about a girl that was gonna get married and her boyfriend left her at the altar, whatever. So she died, of course,” Parton explained on the talk show. The star immediately broke into the tear-jerking song, causing Colbert to get emotional on-screen. The pair exchanged a lighthearted giggle over his tears, with Dolly adding, “I think that it cleanses your soul, I think water is good to wash it ou. It’s what tears are for, I think.”