Home Christian News WATCH Dolly Parton Perform Her First No. 1 on a Christian Chart

WATCH Dolly Parton Perform Her First No. 1 on a Christian Chart

Country music legend Dolly Parton has achieved her first top single on one of Billboard’s Christian charts for “There Was Jesus,” a collaboration she did with Christian artist Zach Williams. In addition to topping several other charts, the song is currently No. 1 this week on Billboard’s Christian AirPlay chart and on Billboard’s Christian Adult Contemporary Songs chart.

“Well praise the Lord and thank you Jesus I guess is what I say first,” said Parton on Twitter. “So proud to be a part of it, so proud of @zachwilliams, & we hope that you continue to be blessed by this wonderful song.”

Zach Williams tweeted, “It is a dream come true to work with the incredible & iconic @DollyParton on ‘There Was Jesus’! Every time I hear her sing, it feels like Heaven is in the room with me.” 

Parton: ‘There Was Jesus’ Was a ‘godsend’

Zach Williams, a CCM artist currently based in Tennessee, won a Grammy in 2016 for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for “Chain Breaker” and has received several other Grammy nominations. “There Was Jesus” is from Williams’ album, “Rescue Story,” which he released in October 2019. He and Parton performed the duet together at the Country Music Awards in November of that year. 

“There Was Jesus” is a song about how Jesus is always with us through the trials we experience in our lives, even if we do not sense his presence or his help. Some of the lyrics are as follows:

Every time I try to make it on my own
Every time I try to stand, I start to fall
And all those lonely roads that I have traveled on
There was Jesus

When the life I built came crashing to the ground
When the friends I had were nowhere to be found
I couldn’t see it then but I can see it now
There was Jesus

In the waiting, in the searching
In the healing, in the hurting
Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces
Every minute, every moment
Where I’ve been or where I’m going
Even when I didn’t know it
Or couldn’t see it
There was Jesus

For this man who needs amazing kind of grace
For forgiveness and a price I couldn’t pay
I’m not perfect so I thank God every day
There was Jesus
There was Jesus

Williams says, “‘There Was Jesus’ is a song that’s really just about the reflection. I’m looking back 20 years ago where I had no idea that God was in the moment, that He was even with me through some of the things I had going on in my life. Looking back now I can see that He had His hand in everything I was doing. He was creating a way and honestly allowing me to live through some of these experiences.” 

Parton described “There Was Jesus” as a “godsend,” saying, “Well, when I heard the song, I thought it was one of the best songs I’d ever heard. I loved [Zach’s] voice. And I was at that time wanting to do something more uplifting.” Last year, the singer made a similar decision when she collaborated with forKINGANDCOUNTRY to release a new version of their song “God Only Knows.”