Storyweb: Storytime For Grownups

This week on StoryWeb: Dolly Parton’s song “Coat of Many Colors.” Call it maudlin or sentimental, but Dolly Parton’s song “Coat of Many Colors” is undeniably an American classic, so much so that it was adapted to a made-for-television movie in 2015 and to a sequel, “Christmas of Many Colors,” in 2016. The song is not particularly innovative artistically speaking. It doesn’t push the envelope in any way. And yet . . . it tells the story of the Parton family so honestly, vividly, and memorably – and does so in a neat, three-minute package. The song tells of the Parton family’s poverty, so profound that the only way Avie Lee Parton can provide a winter coat for her daughter is to stitch together one from old rags given to the family. As she sews the coat for young Dolly, she tells her the Biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. Dolly can’t wait to wear the new coat to school. The joy and pride she feels in wearing the rainbow-colored coat are dashed when the other children at school make fun of her