Dolly Parton: something we can all agree on

[Missing Credit][object Object] A 2019 New York Times headline said it well, “Is There Anything We Can All Agree On? Yes: Dolly Parton.” The newspaper was likely referring to her standing in the United States of America, but international admiration and affection for this superstar has been flowing freely in the aftermath of her death this week at the age of 80. The US President Donald Trump, not always known for appropriate response to events, was quick to pick the mood this time, ordering the nation’s flags to be flown at half-mast over the next week in her honour. ``This is a true loss for millions of people,’’ he said. That might sound hyperbolic, but Parton was a star many felt they knew, even though they had never met her. There will be much poring over her life and music and its significance in the days ahead. It was something Parton thought about too. Martha Ackmann, in her 2025 book about the life and times of Parton Ain’t Nobody’s Fool said the star had once wondered what it would be like when her life was over and she stood at the pearly gates — “if there’s a heaven or hell outside of this’’. She said she wanted to march right up to God and ask a single question: ‘’I just want to know, what you had in mind when you invented Dolly Parton.’’ That remains a rhetorical question. What someone famous means to us and why, is not necessarily an easy thing to unravel either. They can become part of the background fabric of our lives, over decades in this case, without us really registering their importance until they are suddenly not there, leaving an empty spot it is hard to explain. There is, of course, her music which will endure, and is loved both by hard core fans and those who may have a fond memory of belting out Jolene, Islands in the Stream or I Will Always Love You with friends at a karaoke night. For Parton, music was an essential part of her and would be ‘’the thing that sustains me in the time of my life when I am too old for sex and not quite ready to meet God’’. From the time she could form words she said she could rhyme them and catch on to anything with a rhythm to make a song — something as simple as the sound of her mother snapping beans would lead to her tapping a pot with a spoon and singing. This musical ability gave her the chance to escape from her dirt poor tough beginnings, in a one-room cabin in Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children. Her rags to riches story had its ups and downs, but Parton navigated it with a business savvy which ensured she had control over the rights to her music and also protected her private life. She was brave enough to take on a look which might have been considered trashy and the stereotype of the dumb blonde. As she said, it cost a lot of money ``to look this cheap’’ and she shrugged off the dumb blonde jokes because she knew she was not dumb ``and I also know that I’m not blonde’’. That ability to laugh at herself and to be relentlessly cheerful was infectious. Parton was known for her philanthropy, particularly the programme which distributed books to millions of children, in honour of her father who could not read. She went out of her way not to be party political, but she was able to convey strong messages about the way she thought things should be. Parton used her glitzy persona, her songs, and her wit to get people to see beyond the superficial; to think about issues such as discrimination and inclusivity, the treatment of women, loyalty, the importance of family, and the value of love. She said her reason for wanting to be a star was to be able to create more love and share it with more people. “Maybe a person who wants to be a star is doing it as much to be loved as to give love. So what? Isn’t that fair?’’