Dolly Parton’s “Hello God” Lyrics Meaning

When most people opt to converse with the Lord, we tend to do so in a private fashion. Professional musicians, on the other hand, are often compelled to perform this function more publicly. So the implication is that for whatever reasons, these artists desire for said conversations, if you will, to be heard by a wider audience than just the stated addressee.

So presumably, the reason Dolly Parton is taking such an approach in this case (“Hello God”) is because in an indirect way, she is also addressing the lot of us. Or put differently, the message contained in this piece is one that she wants the world to hear.

Theme of “Hello God”

Going back to the idea of songs like these being industry norms, the theme of the first half of “Hello God” isn’t anything we haven’t come across before. That is to say that initially, we are once again met with a vocalist who has witnessed so much “hate and violence” and what have you that, from the first verse leading into the chorus, it is put forth that her belief in the Most High has been shaken.

But that said, Dolly Parton is an old school country artist. So whereas more contemporary singers may actually proceed to harp on the notion of whether or not God exists, she doesn’t really take it there.

So once the vocalist gets her initial gripes out of the way, the rest of the lyrics basically center on Parton entreating the Lord for help. She asks the Almighty to help make the world a better place for all of us, i.e. imbuing the Earth with His love.

So as for the second verse, Dolly proceeds to pray for such a blessing on behalf of the entirety of mankind. But to reiterate, it can be gathered that there’s a message embedded for the listener also. And if nothing else, that would be that at this juncture in world history, it is blatantly obvious that we indeed need the love and forgiveness of God in our lives.

So conclusively, let’s say that there’s no solid evidence that the Most High God listens to the radio anyway.  Therefore, this piece should more realistically be taken as a call for us, the physical listeners, to repent and make amends with our Creator.

Inspiration Behind the Writing of “Hello God”

This song was both written and produced by Dolly Parton, who was actually compelled to do so in the direct aftermath of 9/11, i.e. the shocking 2001 terrorist attack on America.

At the time, Parton was filming a video in Tennessee, which isn’t anywhere near the epicenter of the bombings. But it was such that many of the people she was working concurrently with were from New York City, and panic ensued on the set accordingly.

According to Parton, it felt like the world had come to a sudden end. And as she watched people cry and freak out, at the horror that was unfolding before them, she began writing this song.

Release

“Hello God” was released on 9 July 2002 as part of Dolly Parton’s 39^th studio album titled “Halos & Horns”. The album is a product of Blue Eye Records and Sugar Hill Records (not to be confused with the old hip-hop label).

This track was issued as a single and did manage a humble showing on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

Words from Fans

“Hello God” has been coined as a spiritually uplifting track, one that many fans find relatable even to this date despite it being released in 2002. With all the chaos going on in the world, they note that the track still speaks the truth.

On the other hand, a fan commented about a line in the song, which goes “we’ve learned our lesson”. According to this fan, she wonders if we really have learned a lesson. This because based on recent events, we just keep doing the same (bad) things over and over again.