“God Only Knows” by For King & Country and Dolly Parton Is an Arresting Modern Hymn

Sometimes you gotta bring some blind faith to the Blind Auditions. For her big moment trying out for The Voice Season 28, 24-year-old Florence, Alabama native Kirbi chose a song that beautifully showed off her singing voice and had a special meaning in her heart because it connects to her spiritual side.

Revealing that her beloved grandmother had died of cancer after a long and grueling battle with the disease, Kirbi, who lives and works on a farm, performed “God Only Knows,” the hit song by For King and Country featuring the legendary Dolly Parton. “My faith is a big part of who I am,” she explained to the Coaches after receiving the coveted 4-Chait Turn. “Lord have mercy on my soul,” muttered Coach Reba McEntire when she heard Kirbi’s clear-as-a-bell tone.

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This isn’t the first time “God Only Knows” has been a hit for The Voice Coaches and audience. During Season 26, 13-year-old Jaukeem Fortson put his own spin on the song and explained how it fit into his life, saying, “This song talks about how if you’re in a hard time or if you’re struggling with something, that God can meet you where you’re at. This year, I went into ninth grade and in some classes; work can get a little bit overwhelming. After I heard this song, I could just do my work more and feel calmer. He really knows.”

Kirbi smiles in front of a red backdrop.

Keep reading to find out the full backstory behind “God Only Knows,” not to be confused with the Beach Boys song of the same name.

Dolly Parton loved the message of “God Only Knows”

Comprised of brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone, For King and Country is an Australian Christian Pop duo who released “God Only Knows” to moderate success on their own before the legendary Dolly Parton joined for a remix. Once she did, though, it quickly went to the top of the Christian charts, hitting number two on Billboard.

“I feel really blessed for ‘God Only Knows’ to have landed in my lap like it did,” Parton told The Tennesseean of working on the project, which also included a music video featuring all three musicians (directed by the third Smallbone brother, Benjamin!). “It’s like it fell from the sky. When I heard it, I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this is so good.’ When we got to singing it, oh it just sounded so good. And just working with them was such a blessing.”

Dolly Parton looking into the audience during Dolly: An Original Musical.

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Parton recorded her vocals in 2019, and said in a behind-the-scenes video, “Everyone will relate to it for going through what they’re going through,” adding that her hope for the song is that, “It would [get] people thinking more about goodness and kindness and love. There’s a love out there for us to draw from.”

In the lyrics, the singer addresses a “You,” the listener, who has been through difficult times and continues to struggle, unseen and alone, feeling like no one understands. But, the song says, there is still one source of compassion: God. It’s a message of hope for people who are in acute pain, and it’s clearly resonated with listeners. Many of the YouTube comments on the music video are from people sharing their own struggles, or the struggles of their loved ones, with illness, addiction and mental health, sharing how the song speaks to their experience and inspires them to keep going.