Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him just because you can

Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you, Jolene

He talks about you in his sleep
There's nothing I can do to keep
From crying when he calls your name, Jolene

And I can easily understand
How you could easily take my man
But you don't know what he means to me, Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him just because you can

You could have your choice of men
But I could never love again
He's the only one for me, Jolene

I had to have this talk with you
My happiness depends on you
And whatever you decide to do, Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him even though you can
Jolene, Jolene



Lyrics submitted by Moondragon

Track duration: 02:42


Jolene song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment:okay again i love and relate to this song all the way i mean my best guy friend Cole likes this girl named Alex and i was explaining the song to my friend last night and i told her i relate to it and she asked who she was and when i said she has auburn hair emerald eyes and ivory skin my friend got really creeped out
    Flag musicgirl9507on October 09, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i relate to this song because my best guy friend is liking this girl i thought was my friend and she is way prettier than me and she has auburn hair and emerald eyes and i'm scared that he might go for her
    Flag musicgirl9507on September 18, 2010   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:i think this song talks about telling jolene to not take her man because he means the world to her i didn't even know this song untill i heard alexis grace's version on american idol and now it's one of my favorite songs
    Flag musicgirl9507on September 18, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I sadly relate to this song.. a few years back the guy I was in love with got with a girl actually named Jolene. And the entire song would have been fitting. (Well, she did have a different hair color.. but actually did have bright green eyes and was pale.) Someone actually recommended this to me, but it was that upsetting for me to listen to. A couple years later I could tolerate it because they never lasted long anyway. But still.. the jealousy I felt was intense. : / I love the Mindy Smith version, and after all the comments I went and listened to the White Stripes version. And I actually just now listened to the original, all I gotta say is WOW. I say the original is best.
    Flag colorxmexedenon December 22, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I just recently heard this song for the first time and it brought me to tears. I could not believe the words - they were the story of my life. I spent 14 years with my husband and we had finally had our first child, I was happier than I had been in my entire life. Then came this other woman who made the choice to cheat on her husband with a married man (my husband). They had this affair and I caught him cheating on me and our baby was just turning one. When I confronted him, he told me that he was leaving for this other woman that he fell in love with. I begged him to end it and work on our marriage with counseling, I loved him with everything I had. I went to the woman and begged her to leave my husband alone that she could have any other single man but to please leave my husband alone. I couldn't imagine life without him. She told me that she was sorry but she loved my husband and I couldn't stop this from happening. I was devastated, but I picked up the pieces of my life and moved on. Now looking back - how stupid I was to beg him to be with me, I am thankful that she took that cheat out of my life. I met a wonderful man and I couldn't be happier. Her on the other hand is living the life of hell, he has already been caught cheating on her. Karma!!!
    Flag Thankfulon November 04, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Mindy Smith's version may quite possibly be the best, in matters of opinion. Jolene- the song, is a very needy, clingy, desperate song. I think Mindy is able to convey the message of the song properly opposed to Dolly, White Stripes, and others who choose to sing this song with an upbeat and happy vibe to it.

    Considering nobody is aware of who I am, I'm willing to share a story, of which I am not proud of.
    I was in a relationship for nine months with a guy that was...verbally...cheating on me? Up until he physically went for it. For seven months of those nine he was talking to his ex, telling her he loved her, leading her to believe he wanted to marry her, and such. I, being a fool, was completely in love with him, no matter how desperate and dead inside I was, I loved him. I always knew something was going on. I left him, finally. Then he couldn't take it, he dropped everyone (including his ex), he wanted to be with me, he tried so hard, and I was an utter bitch to him, I'd never been so cruel to anyone in my life. I'm back with him. He talks to absolutely no one besides myself and his two best friends, he has isolated himself from the world, and he truly does love me. It has been six and a half months. Six and a half entirely perfect months.

    Now you know the story.

    I think it's a very sadistic thing of me to do, I continuously listen to this song. I go back and forth replacing myself with Jolene and the speaker. ...Unfortunately, I'm much more of Jolene.

    I love this song, it just sends me into this fit of sad rage, if that makes any sense.
    The speaker is begging Jolene to leave. To let her have her man, even though she knows she can.
    There's two different sides of this:
    The first being, (we need a name for the speaker and the cheater, so the girl begging is going to be named Mindy, Mindy's man is going to be named Dick) Dick doesn't deserve Mindy, he's an asshole, but Mindy is setting herself up for a series of disastrous events by portraying this needy, clingy, and desperate woman. It's as if she has no self confidence at all, and that's not attractive at all. She needs to understand that if Dick doesn't want her, he doesn't want her, he wants to fool around. She should know she's better than that. She's speaking from a broken heart, she needs to move on and find someone who will value her as a significant other.
    The second being, maybe Mindy and Dick have been together for quite sometime, and Dick is just going through a rough time. Mindy may know that it could actually work out, Dick just needs help. Maybe Marriage counseling is in need? Mindy may actually be a smart, self-respecting women that knows her man really does love her, maybe.

    Side note: The fact that she says, "My happiness depends on you..." also really angers me. You don't need anyone but yourself to be happy. I will not let anyone upset me. I will not anyone take away my happiness, because no one can. You make a choice whether you want to dwell, or be happy.

    I think I'm finished. I can't write a book...
    Flagged SigilsSecreton March 18, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the greatest song about romantic rivalry!
    Flag bombsandballoonson January 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i absolutely love this song..!
    Flag __Undiscoveredon January 24, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I think the meaning is pretty obvious. It's being sung by a fairly insecure girl to the beautiful Jolene, who she feels is jeopradizing her relationship. She is simply begging her to let her have hi, as Jolene is so beautiful, she can 'have her choice of men.'
    Flag spacexoddityon September 24, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is one of my many favorites.
    Flag Future_Country_Staron April 12, 2008   Link

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