Photo by Wes McFee
If you live in the state of TN, you can get a free book a month for your child, up to age 5, courtesy of Dolly Parton.
One of these books is based on Dolly Parton's song “Coat of Many Colors.” Dolly goes to school, proudly wearing a coat her mother made for her—a multi-colored patchwork coat made of scraps of material—and Dolly gets mercilessly made fun of.
In the song, she fights back: she tells them that the coat makes her feel rich, not poor; that every stitch is sewn with her mama's love; that she is like the highly-favored biblical Joseph, with his coat of many colors.
When you read the back flap of the book, Dolly tells you that she carried the hurt from that incident for many years. It was only when she wrote the song that she felt healed from it.
Some of you may have seen an old interview with Dolly Parton and Barbara Walters circulating on Youtube. Dolly is young, stunningly beautiful, and successful; Barbara is (not so) subtly trying to cut her down: “Don't you know that people are laughing at you?” she asks at one point.
The subliminal message in the interview was the same as that of the “coat of many colors” incident:
You're trashy.
But Dolly, of course, didn't just take it. (I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that she was ridiculously wealthy and successful). She responded very gently, but firmly: I'm confident in who I am as a person. I'm confident in my talent.
* * *
Recently I was reading a verse in the Bible—You shall surround me with songs of deliverance (Psalm 32:7)—and I found myself asking, what exactly does that mean? What exactly is a song of deliverance?
Almost immediately, I thought of Dolly Parton's “Coat of Many Colors.” I thought of how the song named and exposed the contempt Dolly had encountered in her life and pushed back with the truth:
You say I'm poor, but I feel rich.
Poverty isn't what you think it is.
I am loved and favored, like Joseph in the Bible.
When you think of all the kids and middle-schoolers and adults in the world who have faced this kind of contempt—and you think of all the people who were told they were worth less than others because of some inherent deficiency in them—and you think how everyone avoids poverty and poor people like the plague—this is a really powerful song.
* * *
I encountered another song of deliverance at a Celebrate Recovery meeting. For those of you who are not familiar with it, Celebrate Recovery is a Christian 12-step program, loosely based on Alcoholics Anonymous. I went to one of their meetings to help with the music, and one of the songs we sang was “Why Me, Lord?” by Kris Kristofferson. Here are the words:
[Verse 1]
Why me, Lord, what have I ever done
To deserve even one of the pleasures I've known?
Tell me, Lord, what did I ever do
That was worth lovin' you or the kindness you've shown?
[Chorus]
Lord help me, Jesus, I've wasted it
So help me, Jesus, I know what I am
But now that I know that I've needed you so
Help me, Jesus, my soul's in your hand
[Verse 2]
Try me, Lord, if you think there's a way
I can try to repay all I've taken from you
Maybe, Lord, I can show someone else
What I've been through myself on my way back to you
I think a song of deliverance is a song that takes some struggle in your heart—some stuck place in your life—and speaks truth to it or creates a prayer from it. In this song, we have a person who is expressing gratitude for and acknowledging God's kindness and grace; at the same time, this person is acknowledging his sinfulness (“I know what I am”) and expresses the feeling that he has wasted his life.
But the song isn't hopeless. Quite the opposite. In fact, it takes thoughts that might make one feel hopeless--”I'm a sinner” and “I've wasted my life”--and turns them into a prayer to Jesus. This prayer has buoyancy; it flies immediately to God, and God hears it.
We know from scripture (and hopefully from experience) that God doesn't leave people—even sinful people who have wasted their lives--in a hopeless state when they cry out to Him.
Have you heard a song of deliverance lately?
Love Dolly Parton.
Thank you for this post, Jessamyn!