Dolly Parton has written some of the most enduring songs in American music—"Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors," "I Will Always Love You." But when asked about her own favorite song to listen to, she didn't name a classic or a peer. She named a 1970s track by Canadian singer Dan Hill that most people have probably forgotten.
"I always loved the song, 'Sometimes When We Touch,'" Parton told Today in 2022. "It's an older song, but I just always loved it."
The song reached No. 1 in Canada and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States—a genuine hit, but one that's largely slipped from the cultural conversation. It's the kind of choice that reveals something about how Parton listens to music. She's not drawn to the obvious or the celebrated. She hears something in a song that matters to her, and that becomes the one that stays.
We're a new kind of news feed.
Regular news is designed to drain you. We're a non-profit built to restore you. Every story we publish is scored for impact, progress, and hope.
Start Your News DetoxWhy This Matters
Parton's taste says something about the difference between writing hits and loving songs. In the same interview, she opened up about what she does when the noise of the day gets too loud. She stops. She draws in what she calls "God's energy or that good higher wisdom, whatever you want to call it." She goes quiet.
"Just open your heart, shut your mouth, and just let God kind of restore me," she explained. "Be still and know that I'm God. I always love that. Just stop, be quiet, and shut your mouth."
It's not the answer you'd expect from someone who's spent a lifetime making noise—beautiful, intentional noise, but noise nonetheless. Yet Parton's spiritual practice is built on the opposite: stopping, listening, letting something larger than yourself fill the space you've cleared. Maybe that's why "Sometimes When We Touch" resonates with her. It's a quiet song, a song about vulnerability and connection that doesn't demand anything from you except attention.
Parton has always been clear that her faith isn't about dogma or performance. "I'm not a religious fanatic in any way," she said. "I'm more spiritual." For her, that spirituality is practical. It's a tool she uses when things get chaotic—a way to reset and remember what matters.
It's a reminder that even the people we think we know completely can surprise us with what they choose to love.
