The man knows his tunes.
We’re big fans of Stormzy here at JOE, having been suitably impressed with last year’s Gang Signs & Prayer album and his electric turns at the Olympia Theatre and Longitude.
The grime star is well worth a follow on Twitter, where you’ll find him spreading the power of positivity and taking critics to task when targeted.
And then there’s a day like Saturday where he’s shouting out classic songs of years gone by; namely heartbreaking Dolly Parton country anthem ‘Jolene.’
The hit 1973 song tells the sad tale of a woman confronting the titular Jolene, famously begging her to “please don’t take my man.”
Clip via DollyPartonVEVO
An undisputed belter.
Stormzy seems to agree, having taken to Twitter to carefully break down, step by step, the sheer raw emotion of it all, calling for self-worth and confidence to win the day:
Nah Dolly Parton was spitting some real real pain on Jolene
— Stormzy (@stormzy) January 13, 2018
And Jolene sounds like she’s the baddest b to ever walk this planet
— Stormzy (@stormzy) January 13, 2018
She is BEGGING Jolene to not take her man you know
— Stormzy (@stormzy) January 13, 2018
Kinda sad actually, wish Dolly had more self-love and confidence or the strength to just leave my man cah it ain’t really jolene’s fault
— Stormzy (@stormzy) January 13, 2018
But then again Jolene knows exactly what she’s doing the lil jezzy
— Stormzy (@stormzy) January 13, 2018
And there it is, the sting in the tail of a timeless lovesick anthem, repurposed for a modern audience.
This has to lead to an official collaboration between the two, right?
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