Dolly Parton laid down firm boundaries before joining Sabrina Carpenter on a new version of Please Please Please
Dolly Parton made sure Sabrina Carpenter played by her rules before agreeing to collaborate on a fresh take of Please Please Please for the deluxe edition of Carpenter’s album Short n’ Sweet.
The country music icon revealed in an interview with Knox News that she had one major condition before appearing on the track—she wouldn’t sing anything she found offensive.
“I told her, I said, ‘Now, I don’t cuss, I don’t make fun of Jesus. I don’t talk bad about God, and I don’t say dirty words on camera,’” Parton shared. “But known to if I get mad enough.”
Despite her admiration for Carpenter, Parton didn’t shy away from pointing out that the young singer “can talk a little bad now and then.”
The biggest change came with one of Carpenter’s most explicit lyrics. In the original version of Please Please Please, she sings: “I beg you, don’t embarrass me, motherf*er.”** But for their collaboration, the line was softened to: “I beg you, don’t embarrass me like the others.”
When the duo first teased their team-up, Parton playfully joked with Carpenter in a video clip, telling the Espresso singer: “You’ll be this old one day.” She also laughed about the explicit lyrics, with the revised version reflecting Parton’s influence.
Embed from Getty Images“Thank you for letting me do that,” Parton told Carpenter. The pop star quickly responded: “Thank you for being you.”
The original Please Please Please became a chart-topping success, hitting Number One in both the UK and US. It also earned a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year in 2025, though it ultimately lost to Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’.
Beyond music, Parton recently made her first public appearance since the passing of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean. The legendary singer attended the 40th-anniversary celebration of her Dollywood theme park in Tennessee.
Earlier this month, Parton announced Dean’s death at the age of 82. In a heartfelt statement, she wrote:
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
Shortly after, she released a deeply personal song, ‘If You Hadn’t Been There’, honouring her late husband and the profound impact he had on her life.
From setting boundaries in the studio to honouring her late love, Dolly Parton remains as authentic and uncompromising as ever.
