You Are What You Give... Dolly Parton (A Tribute)

This week, the earth lost one of her most glittering inhabitants, and someone who meant the world to me; global icon, lyricist, humanitarian and philanthropist, Dolly Parton.

Singing along in the car to a well-worn cassette, Dolly's music is one of my earliest memories and the soundtrack to my childhood, beloved as she was by my country-loving dad.

I find myself grieving a stranger who felt like a friend, and from the extraordinary outpouring of tributes and affection this week, it seems I'm not alone

Dolly Parton was a phenomenal force. Consider just a few of her many extraordinary achievements from the most humble of beginnings: over 3000 songs; more than 100 million records; 48 albums, 25 number 1 hits; 11 Grammys; 3 Emmy's; hit movies including Steel Magnolias and 9-5; more than 300 million books given to children through her Imagination Library; a million dollars towards the Modena Covid vaccine, and millions more to children's hospitals - not to mention the rumour that she wrote "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" in just one day!

And yet for all of this, it is for her brilliance as a human being that she is cherished and remembered most by folks across every possible spectrum. Her belief in everyone's inalienable right to love and dignity never faltered.

A Woman of Letters

Something I suprisingly didn't know about Dolly until this week is what a woman of letters she was. In a tribute on Instagram, Eminem posted an unexpected and heart-warming note that she penned to him after his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

A little browse then delivered this gorgeous letterhead correspondence between Dolly and her friend Jane Fonda, a letter to the city of Dunfermline, another to The Swan, a traditional English pub she'd stayed in (where she kept the barman up til 4am), one to rap trio Three 6 Mafia (congratulating them on beating her to an Oscar in 2006), and an early one to her parents after first moving to Nashville aged 18.

Dolly's family, friends and colleagues have now asked fans to submit their own 'letters' in tribute to her on dollyparton.com - 27,688 at the time of writing.

'The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.'

It's impossible to pick a favourite Dolly quote, far too many gems to choose from - you can remind yourself of a few here.

It was her famous maxim above that I had in mind when drawing No Rain, No Flowers, a new card design which will debut in a rainbow of colours this September.

While you'll have to wait a little while yet to send that, here are a few others I like to think Dolly might have been happy to jot a sweet line in... Be more Dolly, send a note!

What Would Dolly Do?

I've never lived in a world without Dolly Parton in it, and I wish I didn't have to now, we need her radical kindness more than ever. She turned her light outwards - in her lyrics, through charity work, in her ever-ready humour, generosity, encouragement, admiration and love.

I've found myself thinking often this week, 'What would Dolly do?' and to me that is the essence of her; we are not what we achieve, earn, eat, or wear, we are what we give, and few embody that more than she did.

They are the shiniest of shoes to fill, but we all have that power to make other people's lives better. After the catastrophic floods and devastation in Nepal, we have donated to Global Giving's Nepal Flood Relief Fund this week - sadly not a million dollars, but we do what we can.

From a sparkling world of wit and rhinestones to an eternity of stardust, Dolly, we will always love you.

Images Credits:

Dolly Parton in 1977 By RCA Records | Dolly Parton with microphone, 1966. Courtesy of Dolly Parton | Letter from Smith College Archive | Dolly Parton performing on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm in Somerset, during the Glastonbury Festival June 29, 2014 (Getty Images) | The Dolly Parton rose from Heirloom Roses.