Dolly Parton: The fortune she left behind

Dear friends, by the time you read this, the world will have said much of what there is to say about our Dolly.

But I still wanted to add my tribute – not because I have anything new to reveal about Dolly Parton, but because an artist can leave such a mark on your life that you feel you have to say goodbye.

For a long time, I regretted not going to any of her concerts when I lived in the States, mainly because I had never been crazy about country music. In fact, if someone had told me I would one day write a tribute to Dolly Parton, I might have asked them what they had been drinking.

But some artists simply transcend genres – and Dolly had a way of making even the stubborn non-country fan tap their feet – and then, rather embarrassingly, sing along.

From humble beginnings, she became a woman of extraordinary generosity. She was a philanthropist, giving hundreds of millions of dollars to charitable causes and even donating $1 million to fund COVID-19 research.

What a beautiful stroke of nature – to give so much talent to a heart gifted with such humanity.

And perhaps nobody understood the importance of not taking herself – or the world – too seriously better than Dolly herself. So, here are a few of her wicked observations:

“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”

“People always ask me how long it takes to do my hair. I don’t know. I’m never there.”

And, of course:

“I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.”

— Dolly Parton

That was Dolly: incredibly talented, extraordinarily intelligent, generous beyond measure – and always able to make us laugh.

And I… will always… remember you.

I will remember you for the joy and the flashbacks you brought into my life through your songs. Songs that can transport you through time in a heartbeat. Songs that can make anybody fall in love and somehow make it feel like the first time.

Songs that accompanied us on journeys, as we stared at the never-ending, dusty desert road, occasionally wondering whether we were still driving through California or had somehow entered a Dolly video.

Even if you were never a country music fan, chances are you loved at least one of her songs—without even knowing it was hers – interpreted by another artist: Whitney, Kenny, Tina, Miley… and so many others.

She was one of those natural songwriters who could write about heartbreak, love, 9-to-5, dreams, loneliness, laughter and life itself – and make you want to sing along.

The songs that all Dolly fans – and non-Dolly fans alike – will never forget.

They say she left behind a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

But I am certain she left behind infinitely more.

Because the gift of making us laugh, dance, believe, dream, fall in love and feel alive through her music…

is priceless.

Thank you, Dolly.