"Coat of Many Colors" By Dolly Parton is about the aspects of having a good heart despite being raised in poverty and appreciating the efforts that her mother made to ensure that she had something to keep her warm. Therefore, the essence of the song is to appreciate her mother for the good things she has done for her despite having so little to spare. The song is used as a poem because it is able to represent the rhyming aspect and it incorporates that poetry devices in its work. Through the expression of words, the tone and the passing of the message the issue that remains clear is that the author or singer is grateful for her mother’s love and care and for teaching her about the ways of the world.
Dolly Parton is a country music singer who was able to express the conditions that she had to grow with before fame and money came along, and due to that reason, she remembers her past through this song while she appreciates her mother’s effort. Therefore, the theme that is evident throughout the song is appreciation, reminiscing as well as being grateful to the mother for the experience. One of the major ways of the world that the singer has been able to represent is that money is not the only thing that can be able to make someone happy. In stanza 11-12, she talks about how her mother sewed the rags together and how she did the action with love and passion which made her proud.
“And I didn't have a coat
And it was way down in the fall
Momma sewed the rags together
Sewin' every piece with love” (Parton, 8-11).
The tone of the poem is somber with a sense of gratefulness and sadness that is being expressed in each verse, and it shows the naivety that the singer had in those years. In each verse, she talks about the way that the other children made fun of her because she had a coat of many colors that was made from rags of different clothes. The inference to the bible makes the song to have a religious aspect that is supposed to showcase the importance that the singer placed on her coat and how she made her wear it with pride
“As she sewed, she told a story
From the Bible, she had read
About a coat of many colors
Joseph wore and then she said
Perhaps this coat will bring you
Good luck and happiness” (Parton, 14-19).
The theme of the song with current events in the world is that it tries to convey the importance of being content with what a person has because if they do not appreciate the little things, then they cannot be able to realize their significance. In this context, the singer showcases how she knew that the coat was made from rags, but she wore the coat with pride because her mother had taught her to be appreciative. Most people do not give thanks due to things that they take for granted every day like having a place to stay, having parents or being able to put food on the table while millions of people are out there suffering.
Such a song as the one that Dolly Parton made has been considered as a timeless hit because it is able to convey the message that resonates with millions of people around the world. Therefore, the song which came out as a true story of what the singer went through during her earlier years shows how far some of the celebrities have come before they ascended to stardom. Through expressing their own challenges, their fans are able to see them as part of them, and they get to understand that the struggles that they are going through may end one day.
Work Cited
"Coat of Many Colors" By Dolly Parton
