Spotify uploads lyrics for Dolly Parton’s Welsh version of Jolene in Irish

Spotify mistakenly uploaded the lyrics to Dolly Parton’s Welsh version of her hit Jolene in Irish. The song was recorded before her death on 25 August and is a collaboration with Welsh singer-songwriter Bronwen Lewis and Parton’s niece, Jada Star. The version has parts sung in English and Welsh, but the lyrics on the digital audio streaming service Spotify showed the language as Irish.

Spotify removed the Irish lyrics after the BBC approached it for comment. The BBC asked Spotify when it uploaded the single and lyrics, when it noticed the error, and when it would be replaced, but it did not respond. The lyrics on Spotify have been removed since the BBC approached the service for comment The single came out on 9 October, and is the second posthumous release from Parton – who was of Welsh descent.

The legendary country artist won 10 Grammy Awards, sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and wrote more than 3,000 songs over a seven-decade career. Jolene was released in 1973 and is about the fear she might lose her husband, Carl Dean, to a red-headed bank clerk who had flirted with him early on in their marriage. It was was nominated for a Grammy in 1974, gave Parton her second number one single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and her first foray into the main Hot 100 chart (60).

It has since earned more than one billion streams on Spotify, and many famous singers have covered Jolene. Lewis and Star recorded their parts in the UK, while Parton recorded her parts in her studio in Nashville The Welsh version came about after Lewis, from Neath, translated the country classic and posted it on social media. Then Star, Parton’s niece, reached out and suggested recording Jolene in Welsh with Lewis – and Parton joined too.

In 2008, during a concert at the Cardiff International Arena, Parton reportedly revealed her Welsh ancestry to fans in the crowd. The star revealed that one side of the family, from Parton’s mother, Avie Lee Owens, was initially believed to be from Conwy. Following the singer’s death, research by staff at Conwy Council’s archives suggested Parton’s ancestors were from Machynlleth, in Powys, not Conwy as previously thought.