Stephen Colbert could not hold back the tears on Tuesday night when Dolly Parton delivered a moving performance on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." Colbert grew misty-eyed during a conversation in which he and Parton discussed a particularly sad song, "Bury Me Beneath the Willows" by Michael Daves and Chris Thile, which Parton's late mother loved to sing.
At one point during the interview, the iconic country music star broke into the first few lines of the chorus, bringing Colbert to tears.
"Oh, bury me under the weeping willow, yes, under the weeping willow tree, so he may know where I am sleeping, and perhaps he will weep for me," Parton crooned. Colbert tried to fight back his emotions but could not stop the tears.
"I'm getting goosebumps," he said as he removed his glasses and wiped his eyes.
"I better hush before you cry yourself to death and we can’t finish the show," Parton joked about Colbert's reaction. The talk show host then explained that he had been feeling under pressure and the song triggered a wave of emotions in him.
"Like a lot of Americans, I’m under a lot of stress right now, Dolly. And, uh, you got under my tripwire right there, I’ll tell you right there ... that was pretty beautiful," he said.
"We used to cry when mama would sing that," Parton laughed. "Mama would cry, we would cry. Those old songs were just amazing though," she added.
"Isn’t it funny that sometimes there’s nothing happier than a cry?" Colbert replied.
"Yeah, I think it cleanses your soul," Parton said. "Water is good to wash it out. That's what tears are for, I think."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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