Dolly Parton gave a tearful performance of her classic 1971 song “Coat Of Many Colors” during the A Holly Dolly Christmas special on Sunday (Dec. 6).
The emotion-filled candlelit performance from Parton was a memorable one as she shared the story behind a coat that her mother stitched together from rags that they had.
The iconic singer recalled growing up in a big family with 12 kids in the house and less fortunate than others at the time, so her coat of many colors that her mama Avie Lee Owens Parton made for her was worth more than anything else as her mama sewed it herself.
“I grew up in a big ol’ family, 12 of us kids, 6 girls and 6 boys. We had a lot of fun growing up in the mountains,” Parton shared. “We didn’t have a lot of stuff that a lot of people have. Nothing that money could buy, anyway. But we had a lot of good stuff, things money don’t buy anyway. Things like love and kindness and understanding, and all that stuff that you really need, that you can’t put a price on, right?”
“I saw Mama sitting on the bench, crying,” Parton recalled. “She didn’t make any noise. But I went over and said, ‘Mommy you can have mine.’ She said, ‘No, no, but I love you because of your good heart.’ So because of mom. I’ve always tried to have a good heart.”
You can watch the singers performance of the song below.
The song was released in September 1971 as the second single and title track from her album, Coat of Many Colors.
The holiday special aired on Sunday (Dec. 6) on CBS and featured a collection of classic songs and new originals from her holiday album, A Holly Dolly Christmas. The holiday album features classic holiday tunes including “Mary, Did You Know,” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” “Holly Jolly Christmas” and more, as well as several originals penned by the country icon. The star-studded album includes duets with Michael Buble, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson and her brother Randy Parton.
