Kacey Musgraves, a celebrated figure in contemporary country music, delivered a memorable rendition of Dolly Parton’s iconic song, “Jolene.” This performance took place on February 8, 2019, at the 29th annual MusiCares Person of the Year gala, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The event honored Dolly Parton for her extraordinary creative accomplishments and her decades of philanthropic…

Jolene was a young doctor just starting her career when the song that changed her life came out.

Growing up in Nashville, Jolene had been told all her life that she could be a beauty queen, a model, an actress. She was told constantly that she was beautiful, that she would make a man a fine wife someday, that she would have such pretty children. But Jolene didn't want any of that.

Jolene had spent her life dreaming of becoming a doctor, of helping men like her daddy and her pawpaw, who both died of black lung. She wanted to heal her community, to help people. She volunteered at free clinics and was a candy striper through college.

Then someone mentioned a song to her, early in her residency, that changed her life forever.

She didn't know who the man in the song was. Didn't know of any woman whose relationship she'd apparently threatened. She had no clue.

But the song had an affect on her life. Suddenly women were calling her a home wrecker, accusing her of sleeping with men she'd never met. Men were propositioning her. Boys jeered at her when she walked down the street. Girls called her vain.