What Happens In The Ending Of 'In The Shadow Of A Song: The Story Of The Parton Family'?

The end of In the Shadow of a Song is like flipping through a family album that has had some pages torn. There is so much to be proud of and also so much pain in these scenes. After Dolly returns to her Tennessee roots she sits on a porch swing with her siblings and talks about her mom’s cooking as well as the hymns they used to sing in church. It’s apparent that while Dolly got to leave and roam the world her siblings stayed put. The documentary does a wonderful job of portraying the gratitude and longing of the situation. After the credits roll you’re humming along to an old tune but wondering the cost of her dreams.

I randomly stumbled upon this super interesting documentary called ‘In the Shadow of a Song: The Story of the Parton Family’ while browsing around for new music documentaries about famous music legends. So as you can imagine, my expectations were set pretty high for a good film. And boy, was it good! As the end credits rolled to the beautiful documentary about the roots of legendary songstress Dolly Parton and her influential family, I felt a bittersweet sense of satisfaction as the film basically explored how the legendary singer/songwriter’s roots would influence her successful career but also reveal the difficulties, conflicts, and sacrifices that would come with her achieving fame. However, these moments were featured in the documentary in very realistic and in some cases, raw and even jealously-filled scenes with her siblings.

The film ends quite differently than a typical Hollywood film. You’re left with a sense of unresolved issues. There are moments when you see how certain family members never pursued music as a career. The ways in which Dolly Parton’s success eclipsed her family’s history is something that’s touched upon too. It’s not a feel-good film where all the family members are reunited and everything is all fine in the end. In fact, there are many quiet moments of love and of regret. The film feels very real. And that’s something that is very rare in biographies of very famous families. It made me realize that a person’s legacy is not just their talent. It’s the bond between people. And those bonds are always imperfect and even messy at times.

If you’re expecting some big finale with fireworks and confetti, then this documentary isn’t for you. ‘In the Shadow of a Song’ is a very reflective film and, in many ways, it is Dolly Parton’s older siblings that tell her story. The last act of the film focuses on the Parton’s older siblings and you get to hear their voices in a much more mature form. But they’re still harmonizing, just like they did when they were kids. There’s a really sweet scene in which the siblings are laughing about how they used to ‘steal’ each other’s lyrics as kids. But, although the film doesn’t tie up every loose end, you get a glimpse into the ways in which money and fame affected the Parton siblings’ relationships with each other over the years. In one scene, an older brother reveals he still feels like ‘the other Parton’.

Unlike many documentary films, In the Shadow of a Song doesn’t offer a neat moral or lesson to the viewer. Instead, the film leaves them with these haunting images of Dolly, as a child, wiping her tears during a visit to her childhood home, Parton’s niece nervously strumming a guitar and wondering if she should follow in Dolly’s footsteps. It’s a powerful yet quiet ending, much like the last note of a beautiful country song that lingers in the air for a moment longer than necessary, evoking feelings in the listener.