Released: February 14, 1977

Songwriter: Dolly Parton

Producer: Gregg Perry Dolly Parton

[Verse 1]
She stands before the mirror
Smiles at her reflection
Striking sexy poses in the glass
She paints her lips a brilliant red
Piles her hair high on her head
Struggles to replace a false eyelash
She powders up her face
Paints her cheeks to match her lips
She wears a dress cut low in front
Fitting tight around her hips
And there inside her room
She stands and gazes at herself
Where beauty lives in memory
She lives in fairy tales

[Chorus]
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who's the fairest of them all?
She sings as she goes waltzing 'cross the floor
She keeps a candle burning
And she waits for his returning
When beauty lives in memory
It lives forevermore

[Verse 2]
She was a fairy princess once
And was by all adored
They say she was the fairest of them all
They called her Cinderella
And they say that every fella
Would gladly answer to her beck and call
So the story went
They tell of how this handsome prince
Stole her heart and wandered far away
He took her heart and took her mind
Now she has lost all track of time
Forty years has passed and still she waits
Singing

[Chorus]
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who's the fairest of them all?
She sings as she goes waltzing 'cross the floor
She keeps a candle burning
And she waits for his returning
When beauty lives in memory
It lives forevermore

[Verse 3]
Meanwhile back inside her room
The shades are pulled, it's half past noon
But in her mind why it's forty years ago
She recalls the beauty of their love
She remembers he was beautiful
And of course she always knew she was
And so the past unfolds
And all at once inside her mind
She sees him at the door
And as he's leading her away
She feels the room begin to sway
Where beauty lives in memory
She falls dead upon the floor

[Outro]
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who's the fairest of them all?

Dolly Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actress, author, and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music

Beginning her career as a child performer, Parton issued a few modestly successful singles from 1959 through the mid-1960s, showcasing her distinctive soprano voice. She came to greater prominence in 1967 as a featured performer on singer Porter Wagoner’s weekly television program; their first duet single, a cover of Tom Paxton’s “The Last Thing on My Mind”, was a top-ten hit on the country singles charts, and led to several successful albums before they ended their partnership in 1974. Moving towards mainstream pop music, Parton’s 1977 single “Here You Come Again” was a success on both the country and pop charts. A string of pop-country hits followed into the mid-1980s, the most successful being her 1981 hit 9 to 5" (from the film of the same name), and her 1983 duet with Kenny Rogers “Islands in the Stream”, both of which topped the U.S. pop and country singles charts. A pair of albums recorded with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris were among her later successes. In the late 1990s, Parton returned to classic country/bluegrass with a series of acclaimed recordings