Here’s Why the Internet Is Divided Over Beyoncé’s Cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’

Though it’s only been a few days since Beyoncé’ ushered us all into her #YeeHawEra with her latest country-inspired album, “Cowboy Carter,” it seems one song is already causing trouble at the saloon.

As many suspected, on the album, Bey covered the popular Dolly Parton hit “Jolene.” But where some fans were excited to hear Bey’s take on the country classic, others were not. Why is that you ask? Well, from what we’ve been able to gather from social media—the dislike stems from a couple key critiques.

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For a certain sect of people, they felt Yoncé’s version lacked the desperation and overt vulnerability that made Dolly’s version so potent.

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“Jolene is fundamentally a song about insecurity,” one user wrote. “Changing the lyrics from ‘I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man’ to ‘I’m warning you, don’t come for my man’ spoils the song. It also betrays an even deeper insecurity—the kind you don’t have the artistic guts to explore.”

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“Guys I’m truly trying so bad not to be a hater rn but…I don’t like Beyoncé’s Jolene…it just cringe to me,” said another.

“I like the beyonce album but i just can’t take her jolene cover seriously. ‘jolene i’m warning you, don’t come for my man’ maam she already did! you wrote a whole album about it!!!!” wrote one user.

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Other critiques expressed similar sentiments to the above user while others felt Bey’s version failed to give additional insight or have any real stakes. Some flat out disliked it overall and didn’t give any real critique outside of “it just didn’t work for me.” Which, in the grand scheme of things, is their prerogative and A-OK. That’s the beauty of art: it’s subjective and up for individual interpretation.

Beyoncé, Dolly Parton – JOLENE (Official Music Video)

However, there were a handful of others who were fans of the modern update of “Jolene” and defended the disdain. One user even offered a rebuttal to the first critique:

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“Threatening someone over your man doesn’t mean you’re not insecure. Beyonce’s JOLENE exposes yall’s lack of understanding as both version could be written by the same woman,” the user wrote in part.

Another user echoed similar sentiments, writing: “I hope yall realize that Beyoncé’s ‘Jolene’ and Dolly’s original are two sides of the same coin, just expressed in culturally different ways…”

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Added another user: “From my middle-age perch, Beyoncé’s version of Jolene makes a lot of sense. Unpopular thought, but in long-term relationships/marriages, I’ll just say there’s a lot of heavy lifting that is rarely discussed”

“Been thinking about how so many have their knickers in a twist over Beyoncé’s new country album,” said another user. “The lyric change Dolly’s song Jolene is brilliant. IMO. It’s about time the big names in country music get used to women singing about taking charge instead of “standing by their man”. Those days are behind us. Kitty Wells tried to warn us but who was allowed to listen. That’s why the Chicks were treated so horribly by the Good Ole Boys in Country Music. Sorry fellas but it took a strong woman like Beyonce to straighten that shit out.’

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Where do you stand? Did Bey’s Jolene hit for you or did it fall flat?