I've always thought that Dolly Parton, like Michael Jackson, managed to create her own reality to live in. It's a rare thing to be able to do - it takes a lot of fame and a lot of money. But whereas Jackson sort of retreated to Neverland both figuratively and literally, Dolly's little pocket universe was infectious. She was, quite simply, one of the kindest and most helpful human beings who's ever lived. She made obscene amounts of money and spent a lot of it, maybe most of it, on making other people happy. That was always rare; these days it's vanishingly rare.
\nDolly Parton was a laborer. That's not an insult. She worked her ass off to get where she was. She didn't have a rich daddy to bankroll her while she swanned off to Nashville to pursue her dreams. My mom was that way - and, funnily enough, both my mom and Dolly sang with Porter Wagoner on their first night in Nashville! So I know exactly how terrifying that must've been for a 21 year old hillbilly girl in a town just as full of predators as Hollywood ever was. But the amount of self-possession and sheer will that woman had would be remarkable in an emperor or empress of China or Rome. I'm not exaggerating when I say that.
\nI could lie to you and tell you I'm a huge fan of Dolly's music, but I'm not. \"Jolene\" is a great country song, but most of her music was almost diametrically opposed to my own personal taste. That does not mean I don't respect it, and her for making it, immensely. But she and I both came out of pretty similar cultures with different takeaways. She maintained her - I believe absolutely genuine and genuinely true and pure - Christian faith. She was one of the most truly Christlike people I've ever witnessed. She loved everyone, judged no one, and corny as it might seem, the lady meant it.
\nThe reason I don't listen to Dolly is that Dolly didn't have a lot of duende in her soul. That's not a bad thing. She made sunlit music that spoke to millions of people. I don't have to wanna put it on when I'm puttering around the house to appreciate it, and I certainly don't have to own all her records to appreciate her as a human being.
\nShe was as close as I've ever seen in this world to a true Christian saint - not a cloistered virginal humorless devotee, but someone who exemplified everything that Christ taught was the right way to be. Dolly Parton may have been the last true American Christian. She chose to put her well-earned money and her sunshine where her Bible told her it should go: to the least of us, the meek and the marginalized and the bullied. She made unloved people feel loved and unseen people feel seen. She didn't have to, but she did. And she did... God almighty, she did good in this world. Can I get a hallelujah on that? If more Christians were like Miss Dolly, this world would be a paradise.
\nWhen David Bowie died, I said that it was as if one specific shade of color had been removed from the world forever. I think the same is true of Dolly. I think she is whatever color a sparkling sequin is when it reflects the lights of the Grand Old Opry.
\nDolly Parton was the color of hope, and we were lucky to have her for eighty years on this earth.
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\nDolly Parton was a laborer. That's not an insult. She worked her ass off to get where she was. She didn't have a rich daddy to bankroll her while she swanned off to Nashville to pursue her dreams. My mom was that way - and, funnily enough, both my mom and Dolly sang with Porter Wagoner on their first night in Nashville! So I know exactly how terrifying that must've been for a 21 year old hillbilly girl in a town just as full of predators as Hollywood ever was. But the amount of self-possession and sheer will that woman had would be remarkable in an emperor or empress of China or Rome. I'm not exaggerating when I say that.
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