Any musician around as long as Dolly Parton has will find a soothing comfort in creativity. It seems the case for Parton and her latest song, If You Hadn’t Been There, a tribute to her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean. There is no denying the heartfelt nature of it. That much becomes clear before playing the song. What If You Hadn’t Been There offers is a chance for audiences to share in the grief. There is much we can learn from artists who are grieving, their public-facing life and the lack of a break from the spotlight means adapting to these heartbreaks. It is not a position musicians should be in, though Parton shows how to make the most of an emotionally volatile time with a sincere and charming song. The sentiment is what is beautiful here, not so much the vocal work or the instrumentals.
If You Hadn’t Been There is a heartbreaker for the tone of thanks, for the confirmation of learning lots from a long-term partner. That is the beauty of this Parton song and what sticks after a few listens is the longevity of love. No doubt there is sincerity at the core of this message, but the right message is not enough when paired with the wrong instrumentation. A rush job to pay tribute to an important person in Parton’s life, a man who did not share the spotlight, has clearly left his mark with the inspiration, with the support in those “ups and downs we’ve always shared,” as Parton recalls. Her whispered delivery is a consequence of longevity, and though it is unfair to compare her to the heyday voice, there is a lacking punch to her vocal work. Still listenable, certainly so, though If You Hadn’t Been There almost gets a free pass considering the grieving process found on it, so open and truthful it is.
Pair it with the inevitabilities of violin and piano work, and there you have it, the heartstrings yanked so hard you barely notice the vocal shortcomings. As a piece of writing, If You Hadn’t Been There is one of the more advanced Parton pieces, one of her very best in form. Her performance is fine enough, too, a song which will bring the passing listener back into the fold and perhaps even turn them into longstanding fans. Those backing vocals are a tip too far into soppy suggestions. It is not as though If You Hadn’t Been There needed that emotional backing given the confidence and strength of the writing, but it feels like an inevitability. A shame, too, since the song itself has a soft country structure which could have worked as a ballad.
There is a sense of Willie Nelson to this song, one of longing for another conversation with someone who has shaped the world around the artist. Parton does well to detail this and keep the flame, the spirit of love and living in its absence, alive. If You Hadn’t Been There is undeniably touching, though loses some of its spirit when backed by the conventional tropes of legacy act recordings. What does become clear, irrespective of the lacklustre instrumental choices, is the pride Parton has in her relationship with Dean. He may have shunned the spotlight but there is an ever-evolving happiness which roots itself in this song, it is what makes it such a tender experience.
