Stop the presses because Joy Behar is weighing in on which version of “Jolene” she likes better — Dolly Parton’s or Beyoncé’s.
“I like the subject of Beyoncé taking over the lyrics,” Behar, 81, shared during The View’s “Behind the Table” podcast on Wednesday, April 3. “I just think that the original thing with Dolly Parton is so, like, anti-feminist. Worrying about some good-looking woman taking your man.”
She continued: “If it’s so easy to take your man, then take him! Beyoncé says, ‘If you take my man, you’re gonna be in a lot of trouble,’ and I say, ‘Go ahead, take my man, take him!’”
Elsewhere in the podcast episode, Behar walked back on her previous comments, calling Parton a “feminist” and “the best.”
Beyoncé, 42, covered Parton’s classic country song on her Cowboy Carter album, released on Friday, March 29. Following the record’s release, fans were quick to note that Beyoncé had changed up most of the original lyrics.
The lyrics in the chorus of Parton’s version read: “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene / I’m beggin’ of you, please don’t take my man / Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene / Please don’t take him just because you can.”
Beyoncé’s chorus goes: “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene / I’m warnin’ you, don’t come for my man / Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene / Don’t take the chance because you think you can.”
Both verses were also changed with Beyoncé taking a more “warning” tone to the subject of the song while Parton took the “begging” approach. Despite the changes, Parton cosigned Beyoncé’s cover — and even added a spoken-word intro before “Jolene” on Cowboy Carter.
“Hey, Miss Honey B, it’s Dolly P. You know that hussy with the good hair you sang about?” she said. “Reminding me of someone I knew back when, except she has flaming locks of auburn hair, bless her heart. Just a hair of a different color, but it hurts just the same.”
Parton appeared to be referring to Beyoncé’s 2016 song “Sorry,” which includes a line about “Becky with the good hair.” (The track is about a cheating man and his mistress. Fans have speculated about Becky’s identity for years.)
While some wannabe music critics on the internet have criticized Beyoncé’s decision to release a country album, Parton was fully on board.
“A lot of people don’t realize Beyoncé is a country girl. She’s from Texas,” the legendary artist said in an interview last month, discussing the song “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé’s lead single from Cowboy Carter. “I think we belong wherever we can do good, and her song is No. 1 across every chart in the whole world, I think. So, I mean, who can argue with that?”
