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Merle Haggard once called Dolly Parton in the middle of the night and asked someone to wake her because he had just finished writing two songs about her. It was around 1974, while Merle was working a two-week engagement at Harrah’s in Nevada. He and Dolly had become close enough to trade musical ideas, and Merle later admitted that his feelings had grown far beyond friendship. That night, after finishing “Always Wanting You” and “I’ve Got a Yearning,” he looked at the clock and decided he could not wait until morning. Around 3:30 a.m. Nevada time, Merle called Dolly’s house. A woman answered and told him Dolly was asleep, but he insisted that she wake her because the song was about her and he wanted her to hear it immediately. Dolly eventually came to the phone and listened while Merle played what he had written. The feelings never turned into the relationship Merle wanted. Dolly was married to Carl Dean, and Merle later acknowledged that he knew the situation could not go anywhere. What he could do was write, and “Always Wanting You” became the clearest record of that period. Released in 1975, the song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart and stayed there for two weeks. A private moment that began after midnight in a Nevada hotel ended up becoming another major hit in Merle Haggard’s career. Had you ever heard that “Always Wanting You” was written about Dolly Parton?

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MERLE HAGGARD WOKE DOLLY PARTON IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO PLAY HER A SONG ABOUT HER

Merle Haggard had just finished writing two songs about Dolly Parton when he looked at the clock and decided morning was too far away.

It was around 1974, during a two-week engagement at Harrah’s in Nevada.

Merle called Dolly’s house in the middle of the night.

“Wake Her Up”

A woman answered the phone and told him Dolly was asleep.

Merle insisted.

He had written a song about her, he said, and he wanted her to hear it immediately.

Around 3:30 a.m. Nevada time, Dolly eventually came to the phone.

Merle played what he had written.

The Feelings Had Gone Beyond Friendship

By then, the two singers had become close enough to share songs and ideas.

Merle later admitted that his feelings for Dolly had become much stronger than friendship.

He also understood the problem.

Dolly was married to Carl Dean.

Whatever Merle hoped for, the situation was not going to become the relationship he wanted.

So he wrote about it instead.

Two Songs Came Out of the Night

The songs were “Always Wanting You” and “I’ve Got a Yearning.”

Of the two, “Always Wanting You” became the clearest expression of what Merle was carrying at the time.

The title alone said nearly everything.

Wanting someone was one thing.

Knowing that wanting could not lead anywhere was another.

The Private Song Became a No. 1

“Always Wanting You” was released in 1975.

It reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart and stayed there for two weeks.

Listeners heard another Merle Haggard love song.

Behind it was something much more specific: a late-night call, a sleeping Dolly Parton, and a songwriter who could not wait until morning to let her hear what she had inspired.

Merle Never Pretended It Was More

Years later, Merle was open about what the song meant.

He had feelings for Dolly.

He knew she was unavailable.

There was no grand affair waiting behind the record.

What remained was the song.

What That 3:30 A.M. Call Really Leaves Behind

Country music is full of songs written about people whose names never make it into the lyric.

“Always Wanting You” carried one of the most famous.

Merle Haggard could not turn the feeling into the relationship he wanted.

He could turn it into a song.

Then, before the sun came up, he woke Dolly Parton so she could hear it first.

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