The world has lost a music legend in Dolly Parton, who has died at 80 after a “brief battle” with cancer. She is remembered for her distinctive country vocals, decades of hit recordings, Grammys, Emmys and a limited but notable acting career.

But the most enduring part of Parton’s legacy is her songwriting, and three songs define her more than any others.

Jolene, I Will Always Love You and 9 to 5 are not only among Parton’s best-known songs, but also important entries in popular music history. They reflect a songwriter who understood how to match lyric storytelling with musical drama, and whose work crossed from country into mainstream pop culture without losing its storytelling core.

Like many songwriters, Parton had things to say. What set her apart was the way her lyrics told a story while her music reinforced it.

Jolene

Released in 1974, Jolene captures the anguish of watching a lover flirt with someone else.

It is a deeply familiar human experience, especially for women who fear how quickly the next attractive young woman can win male attention. Parton’s plea to Jolene not to take her man “even though you can” is raw, direct and disarmingly honest.

The song stands apart from many of the love songs that were common at the time, including The Carpenters’ Close to You (1970), Stevie Wonder’s You Are the Sunshine of My Life (1972) and Carole King’s It’s Too Late (1971).

Instead, Jolene sits on the edge of emotional crisis, telling a vivid story about the insecurity that can arise when one woman sees another as a threat.

Musically, the chords drive through a bleak minor key and rise to higher chords with each dramatic call of “Jolene.” The vocals are accompanied by a rapid, finger-picked guitar part performed in the recording studio by session musician Chip Young. The relentless motion adds tension and also showcases skilled playing.

I Will Always Love You

I Will Always Love You was also released in 1974 and may remarkably have been written on the same day as Jolene.

The song again demonstrates Parton’s ability to unite story and music in a powerful combination. The fear that runs through Jolene gives way here to the grief of saying goodbye to a deep love, because love can endure even when it is not enough to keep a relationship together.

Parton captures a more mature idea than the simple excitement or wonder of love. She understands that love can also mean letting go, which helps explain why the song has resonated far beyond its original country setting.

The lyrics are spare, and the story of “bittersweet memories” remains deliberately vague, but Parton still conveys the emotional core of the experience. The details are unnecessary; listeners can identify with their own painful farewells.

Whitney Houston’s extraordinary cover version turns the elongated singing of “I” into something that sounds almost like a cry of agony.

The chord progression behind the chorus is one of the most familiar hit-making patterns in popular music history. It appears in songs ranging from Stand By Me (1961), Blue Moon (1934), Crocodile Rock (1973) and Every Breath You Take (1983).

Parton’s use of it is distinctive, however: the melody and lyrics do not move with the progression. Instead, the melody stays on a single note, with a few embellishments, while the chords carry the emotional weight.

9 to 5

Parton wrote 9 to 5 for the 1980 film of the same name, in which she starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The song had to fit the energy of a working week and the bustle of daily routine.

To do that, Parton replaced the stretched-out phrasing of her love songs with a relentless stream of words describing the morning routine. She also used clever imperfect rhymes, including pairing “kitchen” with “ambition,” to advance the story.

The verse melody rises with each group of words, building momentum like the start of the day she describes. The chorus sharpens the hook by changing the rhythm so the phrase “9 to 5” can ring out clearly.

In 9 to 5, Parton moved away from love songs and into a feminist message about the unfairness of working hard in a job like everyone else while still being denied a “fair promotion.” Her references to the “rich man’s game” and the line that “they never give you credit” point to workplace inequality that remains relevant today, and the song’s staying power reflects how directly it connected a film comedy to a broader workplace reality.

Wendy Hargreaves, Academic in the School of Education and Creative Arts, University of Southern Queensland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com