If most of you are anything like my roommates and me, you were too busy staring at Dolly Parton’s crazy outfit and impossible breast-to-waist ratio to pay attention to what she was singing at the Oscars last night. But Dolly was there to perform “Travelin’ Thru,” her song from the “Transamerica” soundtrack, which was nominated for Best Original Song. (She already won once in this category, with the theme song from her movie “Nine to Five”).
In “Transamerica,” Desperate Housewife Felicity Huffman plays Bree, a male-to-female transsexual on a cross-country road trip with the son she never knew she had. And a lot of people think Dolly Parton looks like a drag queen, so it’s a perfect fit, right? Once I stopped gawking at Dolly’s platform shoes, I started listening to the words of her song. In a Dolly Parton song, it’s not at all unusual to hear rhymes about Jesus. But invoking Jesus in a song about a transsexual? Now, that’s news.
“Travelin’ Thru” was written specifically for the movie. The lyrics (“I’m just a weary pilgrim trying to find my own way home / Oh, sweet Jesus, if you’re out there, keep me ever close to you”) and could be about any traveler on any path. But knowing the plot of the film makes the lyrics come into focus. The song is about a person who wants to find acceptance after having gender-reassignment surgery. When Dolly sings “we’ve all been crucified, and they nailed Jesus to the tree,” she’s letting Bree’s voice speak through her. Despite facing humiliation and scorn, Bree always trusts that she has made the right decision.
The lines “God made me for a reason, and nothing is in vain / redemption comes in many shapes and many kinds of pain” echo loudly. Bree is defiant against the detractors who tell her that she is a freak who can never be accepted by God and society. In fact, Dolly seems to be making the argument that if God can make men and women in His own image, God can make transgendered people, too. The “keep me ever close to you” refrain is a reminder that Jesus loves all his children, even the outcasts. Calling Bree a “pilgrim” applies a classic American symbol to someone who is blazing a new trail in America. The 17th-century pilgrims wanted religious freedom, and 21st-century Bree wants her own freedom.
Although Huffman received an acting nomination for “Transamerica,” the film isn’t anywhere close to being as iconic or controversial as “Brokeback Mountain.” Host Jon Stewart and Oscar winners like George Clooney and Ang Lee got attention for making political comments last night. But Dolly got her point across in a subtler way. Her song was further proof that not every political statement needs to be made with a sledgehammer. This argument for diversity and religious acceptance for sexual minorities may have missed my ears the first time around, but the song will keep going long after the image of Dolly’s teased hair escapes my memory.
posted March 7, 2006 at 1:22 am
ok i knokw u were not just makin’ fun of Dolly/ her outfit!!!!>
posted March 7, 2006 at 2:49 am
she didn’t win the oscar for nine to five.. she was only nominated. the theme song to Fame won.>
posted March 7, 2006 at 3:35 am
It was a beautiful song and I think much more deserving of an oscar than “its hard out there for a pimp…” Whats that anyway?? lol There is much more meaning in Partons song, especially as it relates to the film. Very beautiful. And I love Dolly Parton!
>
posted March 7, 2006 at 3:42 am
I too am a big Dolly Parton fan and though I haven’t seen the movie yet I love the song and agree that it does indeed make it’s point. I have to admit though I was pretty proud that 36 Mafia become the first rap group to win an Oscar! Diversity rocks – from Dolly’s country/western inspired outfit to the running themes of diversity, tolerance and peace that were portrayed in many of this year’s Oscar nominees!>
posted March 7, 2006 at 10:45 am
While Parton does make for an easy joke, it’s important to remember that her gasp inducing figure helped make her who she is today. In a land of good ol boys, there was little precedence for Dolly to carve the trail she has, and being a bit of a freak proved to be a gift. She used her body as power: an advantage in a place where there was little room for a woman to be advantageous. The fact that she’s also making thought-provoking and beautiful music in a genre that becomes more vapid by the day is truly something to be thankful for. Along with Loretta Lynn (whose strong opinions and strong voice she shared), there are few country artists to date who resonate at such a frequency as to be able to change the opinions of many who otherwise might be as likely to feed a transgendered individual to their housepets as help them with a flat tire in the rain. Maybe she hasn’t aged as well as those bodacious funbags of hers, but her music has and will continue to sound out for a more beautiful world.>
posted March 7, 2006 at 4:20 pm
For about 8 hours a couple of weeks ago, I thought that my beautiful new (and first!) grand daughter had been born a female with male chromosomes. (My fears were allayed when a more accurate diagnosis was offered as a result of some genetic tests. She is female through and through.) However, it was as if God had opened up a possibility before me that my mind simply could not grasp. How do you welcome a child whom you can neither completely say is male or female? That 8 hours absolutely transformed my outlook and made me think about how narrow even the most enlightened of us can be as we treat sexual social constructions as if they are hard reality. I have not seen that movie yet but will. And, from now on, I am going to be more hospitable to those who are not me…Hell, I’m going to be more welcoming of my own internal freak. That Dolly paired Jesus with a transexual is right on target. I can tell you, in the way of Flannery O’Connor, that the freaks will beat those of us who are normal-in-our-own-eys into the Kingdom and Jesus, who is “Lord of the Freaks”, will be there as Drum Major.>
posted March 7, 2006 at 8:23 pm
long after the image of Dolly’s teased hair escapes my memory”… And that’s a frickin’ long time.>
posted March 8, 2006 at 12:04 am
I am pleased that Dolly was brought back one more time to sing a song combining Jesus and the transgendered. Maybe Dolly should run for President!>
posted March 8, 2006 at 4:40 pm
This is a really great song. Good for Dolly for being a star with courage to do what she wants to do, rather than what she thinks others will find acceptable. For anyone unaware, Dolly has actually received death threats from country fans for this song. She told US Weekly that anyone who has that much hate, cannot really go through life happy.>
posted March 9, 2006 at 1:58 pm
Does anyone else think that Dolly got a nose job?>
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posted May 11, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I’ve all ways loved Dolly, and she constantly makes me love her more. While I grew up with country music, and happen to love it, I truly hate hardcore country fans. They drop legends at the drop of a hat, simply for having a different opinion then theirs. Dropping the Dixie Chicks for hating Bush was bad enough, but making death threats to, not only a country legend, but possibly one of the BIGGEST country legends ever? How dare you! You certainly can have your opinion, but that doesn’t include making death threats. We live in a country where we have a lot of freedoms, and Dolly isn’t discluded from them because she’s a country-blue-grass singer/songwriter/actress/philantropist/activist.
She’s just full of love and spunk and energy. Keep goin’ girl!!!!
I saw Dolly a few nights ago in concert, and her heart is way bigger then her breasts!
posted May 19, 2008 at 9:16 pm
She didn’t win for 9 to 5..
posted July 23, 2009 at 7:28 am
Having just seen the film, I am just overwhelmed by Dolly Parton’s song, and Duncan Tucker’s courage & talent in dealing with such a sensitive subject. Dolly Parton inspires love & compassion through her words & obviously needed both of these vital ingredients to have been able to write the song. Chapeau bas!
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posted December 27, 2010 at 12:40 am
The “keep me ever close to you” refrain is a reminder that Jesus loves all his children, even the outcasts.