Tag: guitar

One of the best storytellers is Dolly Parton. Yup, you read that correctly! What makes her songs so good are the stories she’s able to tell. Her song, “Coat of Many Colours”, released in 1971, is a perfect example of storytelling through music. Even if you are not a fan of old country music, I’m talking about the original country music, you must admit most of the songs of this genre fit all the parameters for a great story. Great stories are universal. Great stories resonate with the audience by being relatable or emotional. Great stories have structure and purpose but are simple and focused at the core, and great stories have good characters, particularly a character the audience wants to see succeed. So, let me show you why “Coat of Many Colours” is truly a great story!

Great stories are universal, relatable, or emotional

Country music has evolved over the years and has become a mixture of many types of music, but it originated in the deep south among the poor working-class trying to survive off the land. Country music stories, like all other good stories, are relatable or emotional. “Coat of Many Colours” is a song about adversity and love, both relatable emotions. In this story, the little girl has a loving family and although she is teased for being poor, she doesn’t feel poor because of the love she gets from her mom. Most of us have felt love from a parent or guardian, most of us were probably teased at some point in our life. The descriptions Dolly uses in her story evoke emotion in the listener because they have been in a similar situation and, through the story, they relive those emotions helping them feel the story.

Great stories have structure and purpose but are simple and focused at the core

While “Coat of Many Colours is told through music, it still has structure and a purpose. Dolly starts by describing how their family was gifted a box of rags and because they were poor and fall was coming, her mother used the box of rags to make her a coat. Dolly watched her mother make this coat and put her love into it. She was very proud of her coat and while their family didn’t have money, she felt rich wearing this coat made with her mother’s love. At school, she was teased by the other kids because of her coat made of rags and for being poor. At the end of the song, Dolly tells the listener how she dealt with the bullies. The ending reveals the purpose of this story. We see a little girl unphased by the teasing, full of love from her family and proud of where she comes from. This story has a structure, a clear beginning, a middle, and an end. There are also events throughout the story that create difficulty for the character and in the end, we see the resolution.

This isn’t a long song. Dolly’s stories are simple and focused while still including details that draw in the listener and paint a picture for them. The music that accompanies the stories also helps to shape the mood and emotions that go with them.

Great stories have good characters

The main character in “Coat of Many Colours” is a sweet innocent little girl. She explains that she knew her family was poor but never felt poor because of the love she always received. Her innocence didn’t allow any of the adult stresses to bother her. She is a character you feel for at the beginning of the story because of her situation. You then feel for her again when she is teased. But, in the end, you feel proud of her for how she handles herself and for what she can see despite her family’s financial situation. She is a great character that is endearing and lovable.

While music isn’t necessarily the first medium you think about when you think about a good story, country music has always been based on telling stories and many of the songs of this genre tell great stories. Examining “Coat of Many Colours”, the storyline is relatable and evokes emotion which is enhanced through the music. Although the song is short, it is focused and follows a structure. Lastly, it has a great character that we can easily fall in love with. Using the principles of great storytelling, Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colours” is truly a great story.

What is your favorite country music story? Let me know in the comments.