About The Song
“Tennessee Homesick Blues” is a country song written and recorded by Dolly Parton. It was released on May 14, 1984, by RCA Records as the lead single from the soundtrack album to the 1984 film Rhinestone. The soundtrack album itself was released on June 18, 1984. The track has a length of approximately 3 minutes and 35 seconds. Parton served as both the songwriter and a co-producer on the recording, with Mike Post also credited as producer and arranger.
The song was composed specifically for the film Rhinestone, in which Parton starred opposite Sylvester Stallone. Parton wrote all of the original songs featured on the soundtrack. The film was released theatrically on June 21, 1984. Recording sessions for the soundtrack took place primarily between August 1983 and January 1984 at Smoketree Ranch in Chatsworth, California. The soundtrack peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number 135 on the Billboard 200.
Parton has stated in later interviews and in her 2020 book Songteller that the composition drew from themes of rural Tennessee life and earlier songs she had written about home, such as “My Tennessee Mountain Home.” The lyrics present a first-person narrative of a character from the Great Smoky Mountains who is living in New York City and recalling aspects of life in rural Tennessee, including references to fishing, family, and local activities. The song shares thematic similarities with other Parton compositions centered on Appalachian settings.
The single debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and reached number one on the chart dated September 8, 1984, holding the top position for one week. It spent a total of 20 weeks on the Hot Country Songs chart. It also topped the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada. On the year-end Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for 1984, the song ranked at number 19. The B-side of the original RCA single was “Butterflies.”
In Parton’s singles chronology, “Tennessee Homesick Blues” followed “Downtown” (1984) and preceded “God Won’t Get You” (1984). “God Won’t Get You,” also from the Rhinestone soundtrack and written by Parton, reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The soundtrack produced additional tracks performed by Parton, as well as contributions from family members including Randy Parton and Floyd Parton, and duets involving Stallone.
The song received a nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985. It also earned a BMI Country Award in 1985. Rolling Stone later included the track at number 48 on its list of the 50 best Dolly Parton songs.
Commercial performance data confirms the single’s chart trajectory: it entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in the lower ranks in early June 1984, climbed steadily, and achieved its peak in early September. The soundtrack album debuted at number 54 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart dated July 28, 1984, and later reached a peak of number 32 according to some discography sources, remaining on the chart for multiple weeks.
Parton has described the Rhinestone soundtrack in her autobiography My Life and Other Unfinished Business and subsequent interviews as containing some of her strongest work from that period, despite the film’s commercial and critical reception. The soundtrack remains part of her RCA catalog from the mid-1980s and has been reissued in various compilations, including Ultimate Dolly Parton (2003) and Diamonds & Rhinestones: The Greatest Hits Collection (2022).
Production credits list Parton and Mike Post as the primary producers. The arrangement incorporates traditional country instrumentation consistent with the period, including elements such as fiddle and steel guitar that support the song’s structure of verses, chorus, and narrative progression. The track opens with observations about New York City contrasted against references to Tennessee landmarks such as the Grand Ole Opry and the Smoky Mountains, followed by personal recollections and a recurring chorus focused on returning home.
Chart archives and discography records consistently document the May 14, 1984, single release date, the June 18, 1984, soundtrack release, the September 8, 1984, number-one peak on Billboard Hot Country Songs, the one-week stay at number one, the 20-week total chart run, and the parallel number-one position in Canada. These details are corroborated across Billboard data, RPM charts, Parton discography resources, and contemporary industry publications from 1984.
The song has appeared on multiple Parton compilation releases and continues to be referenced in discussions of her film-related recordings. Secondary singles and tracks from the same project, including “God Won’t Get You,” further illustrate the commercial output of the soundtrack. No Hot 100 crossover charting is recorded for the original single release. The recording stands as one of Parton’s number-one country hits from the mid-1980s RCA era.
Video
Lyric
New York City ain't no kind of place For a country girl with a friendly face If you smile, people look at you funny, they take it wrong The greenest state in the land of the free And the home of the Grand Ole Opry Is calling me back to my Smoky Mountain home I wish I had my old fishing pole And was sitting on the banks of the fishing hole Eating green apples and waiting for the fish to bite Life ain't as simple as it used to be Since the Big Apple took a bite out of me And Lord, I'm so Tennessee homesick that I could die But I ain't been home in I don't know when If I had it all to do over again Tonight I'd sleep in my old feather bed What I wouldn't give for a little bitty taste Of mama's homemade chocolate cake Tennessee homesick blues is running through my head Mama, you can fluff my feather bed Just as soon as I can, I'm gonna head Back to the Tennessee hills and it better be soon Daddy, you can load the rifles up We're gonna load them dogs on the pickup truck And head up to Calhoun Country and catch us a coon But I ain't been home in I don't know when If I had it all to do over again Tonight I'd sleep in my old feather bed Eatin' grits and gravy and country ham Go to church on Sunday with dinner on the grounds Tennessee homesick blues are runnin' through my head But I ain't been home in I don't know when If I had it all to do over again Tonight I'd sleep in my old feather bed Good Lord have mercy on a country girl Tryin' to make a living in a rhinestone world Tennessee homesick blues is runnin' through my head I've got those Tennessee homesick blues runnin' through my head Tennessee homesick blues