Jeff Tweedy, singer of alternative rock band Wilco, appeared on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" this week, where he shared a unique view of one of Dolly Parton's most iconic songs.
Tweedy joined the show to promote his book,
"The book would sound really silly if I didn't take ownership of some things that aren't for me, and one of them is 'I Will Always Love You,'" Tweedy said, as the audience gasped.
Colbert, not allowing Tweedy to easily escape from the comment, then joked, "You hate Dolly Parton."
"That's what you just said!" the host continued. "You said Dolly Parton has no talent."
Tweedy quickly refuted Colbert's sarcastic remarks, saying he "loves" Parton herself. He then, however, added more fuel to the flame in regards to his opinion about the song.
"All I know is that she wrote 'Jolene' and 'I Will Always Love You' in the same day, and I think she should have stopped after 'Jolene,'" Tweedy said.
After a laugh from the audience, Colbert asked for clarity on why Tweedy dislikes the song, and it came down to one word: the "I" Parton holds out at the beginning of the chorus.
"Do you think she's milking one vowel too long?" Colbert asked, after which Tweedy answered, "Yeah."
Tweedy then admitted that his distaste for the song goes a bit deeper, explaining that it may have to do with his own singing abilities.
"It's obviously me," he says. "People have a natural inclination to reject things that they can't do, and I can't hold a note for very long. So, that song is dead to me."
Other songs Tweedy lists that aren't his favorite include Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now," the Allman Brothers Band's "Ramblin' Man" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (although it's unclear which version he's referring to).
Parton's original version of "I Will Always Love You" went on to reach the No. 1 spot on the country chart and become one of the best-selling country singles of the year. The song was famously covered by Whitney Houston for the 1992 blockbuster, "The Bodyguard." It became a worldwide hit, spending 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming one of Houston's most iconic recordings.
