(-: original image source unknown)

Odd as it may seem…

Someone figured out that Dolly Parton’s hit song “Jolene” (from her 1973 album with the same name) sounds unexpectedly good when slowed down from 45 rpm to 33 rpm. Parton has said the inspiration for this song came from a redheaded bank teller who she believed charmed her husband… (ear-worm warning).

My kid brother, John Paul Peters, is a music producer and sound engineer. Here’s his explanation:

“Dolly Parton has a very short throat. Her vocal sounds quite nasal by any standards and so when you drop the pitch and speed of the song it sounds like a guy would sound naturally. Usually, when you drop the speed and pitch of the song it sounds unnaturally deep, but, since Dolly Parton has such a small throat and quick vibrato, her texture works fine and she actually sounds plausibly male!”

Click here or on the image to listen; click here to download an MP3 file.

(source)

—Christian Friedrich Hebbel (1813-1863)

(attributed to Rumi)

The time will soon be here when my grandchild will long for the cry of a loon, the flash of a salmon, the whisper of spruce needles, or the screech of an eagle. But he will not make friends with any of these creatures and when his heart aches with longing, he will curse me.

—Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh Nation (1899-1981)

When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.

—Tecumseh, Shawnee leader (1768-1813)

Thanks to Brenda Morrison in Eagle River, Ontario, for this quotable…