"Coat Of Many Colors" lyrics

"Coat Of Many Colors"
("Coat Of Many Colors" Version)

Back through the years I go wanderin' once again
Back to the seasons of my youth
I recall a box of rags that someone gave us
And how my momma put the rags to use

There were rags of many colors
But every piece was small
And I didn't have a coat
And it was way down in the fall

Momma sewed the rags together
Sewin' every piece with love
She made my coat of many colors
That I was so proud of

As she sewed, she told a story
From The Bible, she had read
About a coat of many colors
Joseph wore and then she said

"Perhaps this coat will bring you
Good luck and happiness"
And I just couldn't wait to wear it
And momma blessed it with a kiss

My coat of many colors
That my momma made for me
Made only from rags
But I wore it so proudly

Although we had no money
Oh, I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me

So with patches on my britches
And holes in both my shoes
In my coat of many colors
I hurried off to school

Just to find the others laughing
And making fun of me
And my coat of many colors
My momma made for me

And oh I couldn't understand it
For I felt I was rich
And I told them of the love
My momma sewed in every stitch

And I told 'em all the story
Momma told me while she sewed
And how my coat of many colors
Was worth more than all their clothes

But they didn't understand it
And I tried to make them see
That one is only poor
Only if they choose to be

Now I know we had no money
But I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me
Made just for me


Thanks to NikkiSkye for correcting these lyrics.
Writer(s): Dolly Parton
This song was composed by Dolly Parton while traveling with Porter Wagoner on a tour bus in 1969. She scribbled it on a dry-cleaning receipt from one of Wagoner's suits. Wagoner put the receipt into a frame after the song had become a hit.
The song is based on actual facts because Dolly Parton's mother really made her such a coat. They had a large family with 12 children and were rather poor. And her schoolmates really mocked her because of that coat.
She told Mojo about this track in 2004, "It tells about the people I grew up with, it speaks well of my family and particularly my mother. My spiritual values too. I can always sing that sincerely from my heart." She confirmed many times that this song was her favourite among more than 3000 which she had written.
There is a children's book based on the song, written by Dolly Parton and illustrated by Judith Sutton. The book was published in 1996.