PBS

The queen.

Back in 2003, the Dolly Parton delivered performances of several different songs, including her hit “9 to 5,” at the A Capitol Fourth Independence Day celebration, which was a 90-minute live televised concert held on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

But her performance of her classic hit “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” feels especially powerful on this Fourth of July holiday, as we celebrate 250 years of this great country. Of course, it’s certainly not perfect, but it’s a beautiful place where we celebrate freedom and all of the many types of wonderful people who make America so special, and those who have made sacrifices over the last 250 years to keep it that way.

Dolly first wrote “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” in 1976 during a period of personal transition and renewed optimism, and it first appeared on her 1977 New Harvest…First Gathering album, becoming a top twenty country music hit for her as a single.

As Parton has said over the years, “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” was her “song of deliverance,” which was inspired by the pain from her professional break-up with longtime musical partner, the man who really gave her the first big break of her career, Porter Wagoner.

Dolly of course famously left Wagoner’s band in 1974, wanting to strike out on her own as an independent artist more in the pop world, and the story goes that Wagoner responded by taking legal action, and they spent many years at odds as a result. In addition to “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” appearing on her New Harvest…First Gathering album, the song was also included on her 1992 film Straight Talk, and eventually, a third recording of the song appeared on her 2003 album, For God and Country.

She spoke about how she needed to give herself a little hope the first time she wrote it, something that this country is all about… as long as we have the free United States, and the citizens who believe in it, we have hope:

“I am really excited to share my brand new video for ‘Light of a Clear Blue Morning.’ Now, I first wrote this song back in 1976, when I needed a little hope.

This time around, I’ve invited some very special women, some real shining lights, to help me bring that hope to life again, and I can’t wait fro you to hear what e’ve created together.”

Dolly recently re-released it with four other musical powerhouses joining her in Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, and Reba McEntire on the 50th anniversary of her writing the song, which was also in honor of her 80th birthday in January. She donated all net proceeds from the song and its accompanying music video to the pediatric cancer research program at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, a longtime partner and cause close to Parton’s heart.

For all its flaws, the United States of America remains the shining city on a hill, a place where we believe in freedom, independence and a better tomorrow for all, and there’s no great national treasure on this earth to remind us of that other than the icon herself, Mrs. Dolly Parton.

Happy Fourth of July, y’all:

“Light of a Clear Blue Morning”