"The album [Coat of Many Colors] was originally released in 1971, with two of the tracks actually recorded in 1969. Legacy and Sony BMG have re-released it with four additional tracks. Eight of the ten original tracks were written by Dolly and the remaining two tracks were written by Porter Wagoner. This was a major step for Parton in proving her capabilities not only as a solo artist, but also as a credible songwriter. Dolly's lyrics have always tended to deal with personal life experiences and she was never one to shy away from things that weren't widely discussed in public. "Coat of Many Colors" is a song that has not only withstood the test of time but is a personal story of her childhood. She even turned it into a very successful children's book. But it is the story of a coat that her mother made for her. Only instead of using a single piece of material, she pieced together rags to make a coat and kids at school were very cruel when she wore it. As the coat was being made, her mama had told her the Bible story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. It made the coat even more special to the young girl, and she was very hurt at the cruel teasing from her classmates. She tried to make them understand how special it was to her to no avail. It is a beautiful song with a powerful message that will never go out of date."

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