It’s hard to believe that Dolly Parton had even one song banned from country radio.
But actually, it happened on more than one occasion, with songs like “The Bargain Store,” and the one we’re talking about today, “Touch Your Woman,” which she released on this day in 1972 as the only single from her album of the same name.
A solo write by Dolly, it peaked at #6 on the U.S. country singles chart, but was actually banned from quite a few country radio stations because of the sexually suggestive nature of the lyrics that they found to be too explicit… which seems like nothing compared to what you hear on your local FM station these days, but this was the early 70’s and obviously a very different time.
In her 2020 book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, she wrote about the meaning behind it, saying the real message was about fighting and makin’ up after a disagreement in a relationship:
“I think this is a very sweet song, and a really good love song. It talks about the couple’s sensuous, sexual, tender relationship.
But it also says, ‘We’re bound to fight.’ When it is all said and done, all you gotta do is just touch your woman, and let me know that everything’s gonna be okay. It’s sexy, and it’s intimate.”
She added that there’s an innocent and pure element to it too:
“But it is also innocent and pure. It’s ‘just let me know you love me.’ Touch me, and let’s get back to where we’ve been and how we got together to start with.
We can’t let some little upset make us get bitter and calloused. Let our love build and grow. Just touch me, tell me that you’re sorry, or let me say that I’m sorry.
Whoever is sorry, let’s just do it and touch again.”
And while some of the powers that be at country radio didn’t appreciate it, the song was nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the 1973 Grammy Awards, but ultimately lost to Donna Fargo’s “The Happiest Girl In The Whole USA.”
When you hear songs like this, and the stories behind them, it’s just makes you all the more appreciative for her honesty and willingness to put herself out there, no matter the cost.
Even though it peaked outside the Top 5, it’s a #1 hit in my book…
“Touch Your Woman”
