Jolene

Dolly Parton, 1973, and one of the most efficient songs in country music: two chords, under three minutes, and an entire situation established in the first verse. The whole lyric is a plea addressed to the other woman rather than to the man, which is the choice that makes it last.

Parton has said the character came from a bank teller who flirted with her husband, and that the name came from a young fan at a signing.