A Welsh language collaboration between Dolly Parton, her niece Jada Star and singer-songwriter Bronwen Lewis might not have been on your bingo card for this year. But their cover of smash-hit Jolene, with Welsh and English lyrics, has been released on Friday. The song, recorded before Parton's death on 25 August, is her second posthumous single.
A teaser video released last week shows how Parton spent some time understanding the phonetics of Lewis' translation and recorded her parts at her studio in Nashville in early 2025. Lewis, a proud Welsh speaker from Neath, started translating some of her favourite tunes in 2024, landed on the Parton classic and recorded a video of herself singing it. "I never expected it would go viral and definitely didn't expect it to attract the attention of Dolly's family - especially her niece Jada," Lewis said.
Star, also a singer-songwriter, came over to Wales from Nashville and bonded instantly with BBC Radio Wales' Lewis. The teaser revealed it was Star's suggestion to record Jolene in Welsh, as she would get her aunt involved too. Star and Lewis said Parton, who has links to Machynlleth in Powys, was "proud" to sing in Welsh.
On the track, Parton recites that "heartbreak sounds the same in every language". This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies.
You may want to read Meta’s Instagram cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. In 2008, during a concert at the Cardiff International Arena, Parton reportedly revealed her Welsh ancestry to fans in the crowd.
She said she had visited Wales "about three times" and it "felt good because it feels like family", when speaking to WalesOnline. Star revealed one side of the family from Parton's mother Avie Lee Owens was initially believed to have come from Conwy. Some of Parton's music may have been inspired by her Welsh roots, according to Star.
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