Many of us have crushes on our favorite movie stars, TV favorites, or recording artists. But sometimes, even they have innocent romantic fantasies of their own about other celebs.

That seems to have been the case with the great Merle Haggard. He reportedly thought the world of the ravishing Dolly Parton. He even put pen to paper about his sweet longings-from-afar for Dolly and apparently wrote a song about it!

We were so intrigued that we wanted to know more about Dolly’s admirer, Merle. How did that situation play out? Let’s see!

Merle Haggard Was Reportedly Smitten With Dolly Parton

They Were Longtime Pals Until 2016 When Merle Died

But Merle’s feelings for Dolly apparently went deeper than being mere buddies who were in the same industry. According to Whiskey Riff, “…Merle always felt much more for Dolly than your typical friendship, and was pretty taken by her for most of the time they [k]new each other….”

Merle And Dolly Were Both Married

Merle walked down the wedding aisle five times. His final marriage lasted for 23 years. Dolly has been married to her hubby Carl Dean for 58 years! So neither one was available to get seriously involved.

Dolly Denied Being Romantically Involved With Merle Haggard

She Reportedly Debunked Rumors Of A Relationship With The Famed Singer

Per the outlet, Dolly “did go on the record” to say that there was nothing going on between her and Merle Haggard such as an affair. “Merle Haggard was a special, special person. I heard he had a crush on me. All I knew was that we had a great relationship” was how Dolly characterized their friendship in her book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, released in 2020.

She also wrote, “We never had an affair or anything like that. We were just buddies, as far as I was concerned.”

Some Suspect That Merle’s Song, ‘Always Wanting You,’ Was About His Unrequited Adoration For Dolly Parton

The Song’s Lyrics Suggest Heartfelt Romantic Yearnings

The words of “Always Wanting You” indicate a painful and intense longing for someone. Whiskey Riff opined, “It’s a very honest, and pretty damn sad, admission about [Merle’s] love for Dolly and how he ultimately knew it could never be.”

“Always wanting you, but never having you,
Makes it hard to face tomorrow ’cause I,
Know I’ll be wanting you again,
Always loving you but never touching you,
Sometimes hurts me almost more than I can stand.”

He wrote in his 1999 book, Merle Haggard’s My House of Memories: For The Record, “I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for [Dolly]. And she knows it.”