ALBUM: Fans rave over Dolly Parton’s new children’s album.
By Esther Wang, Staff Writer
On September 29, Dolly Parton released her new album, “I Believe In You.” The album is Parton’s first children’s album ever to be released throughout her 50 year career. The album consists of 14 tracks, including a bonus track of a book read by Parton. All of the songs in her new album fit right in the children’s genre because they are typically comprised of happy beats and encouraging messages, such as “follow your dreams” or “never give up.”
As it turns out, Parton has wanted to compose a children’s album for a while. “I am very excited that now I’m coming out with my first children’s album in all that 50 years,” Parton said in a Nashville press conference promoting her new album on August 15.
The songs in her album include “I Believe In You,” “You Can Do It,” “Responsibility,” and “A Friend Like You.” The bright themes, upbeat melodies, and moral lessons in the songs are perfectly appropriate for young children.
When listening to a few of the tracks in the album, the songs “I Believe In You,” “Coat Of Many Colors,” and “Imagination” all contained typical moral messages expressed through children’s songs. A lyric in the song “I Believe In You” is “we can do anything if we just don’t give up,” which encourages children to persevere. Another common children song theme, “use your imagination,” is expressed in Parton’s “Imagination” track. “Coat Of Many Colors” informs its young audience that you are as rich as you let yourself be, as shown through the lyric “one is only poor only if they choose to be,” once again a reoccurring message in the children music genre.
The motivational themes in Parton’s songs demonstrate that she holds a special place for children in her heart. Her love for children influenced her to found the Imagination Library in 1995. The library encourages children worldwide to indulge in reading. Since its launch 22 years ago, the library has distributed over 80 million books to children all over the world, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In fact, Parton plans on sending the profit from her newest album to the Imagination Library.
It’s rare and surprising for an artist with high popularity and fame to release a children’s album. It’s not everyday a person like Demi Lovato or Whitney Houston releases an album for little kids instead of more mature listeners. Parton’s unexpected children’s album can cause other artists to be aware of the chance of young children listening to their music, and remind the artists to be more mindful of their music content.