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Wewillalwaysloveher
letter to my
younger self.
Dolly
Parton
actuallywasaprettygoodgirlat16.I wasinhighschoolatthe
timebutI hadbeentakingmymusicveryseriouslyforseveralyears
beforethat,takingtripsbackandforthtoNashvillewithmyUncle
BillOwens,frommyhomeineastTennessee 200 milesaway.We’d
take someold car, and sleepin the car, tryingto go into differentofficesin
Nashville.We’dstaya fewdaystotrytogeta fewthingsgoing.I didn’thave
timetorunaroundandmesswithboys.Andmydadwasprettystrictanyway,
soI prettymuchspentmyteenageyearsjustworkingonmymusicand
hangingoutwithfriendswhenI hadanopportunity.Iwas about13whenIfirstmetJohnnyCashand that’swhenJohnnywas
allstrungouton drugsand everything,buthewas somagnetic,sosexy.
He was my first malegrown-upcrush,he just reallymovedme. That’swhen
I realisedwhathormonesdoandwhatsexappealreallymeans.Hejustkind
ofstirredmesomehow.AndsoI guessthat’swhenI realisedI wasbecoming
a littlewoman.Oh,welaughedaboutitthroughtheyears.I toldhim,you
knowyou were my very first crush,my first sexy grown-upcrush.He always
gota kickoutofthat.IknewIwantedto alwaysstay true to my roots.I knewI lovedmyfamily– I
wouldnevershamethem,I wasproudofmyfamily.ButI justhada feeling
insidemygutthatI wassupposedtodosomethingmore.I feltitinmy
bonesearlyon,itwasjustlikea calling.I wantedtogobeyondtheSmoky
Mountains.My familyknewthat as well, even thoughit was a little different
fora lowmountaingirl.I’m very proudof thefact thatI’m somuchbothof my parents.I canseeit
soplaininmyself.I gotmyspiritualsideandmymusicalsidefrommymom’s
people.Mostofthemplayedmusicalinstrumentsandsang,andallwegrew
upinthechurch.Wewerethefamilythatplayedatfuneralsandweddings
and all kindsof shindigs.My dad’speoplewere mainlyhard-workingpeople;
I gothisworkethicandwillingnesstosticktoituntilI getthejobdone.I
knowwhatpartofmeisdaddyandI knowwhichpartismamaandI thinkit’s
a goodcombination.It’swhyI’velastedsolong.Usuallycreativemusicians
arebasicallykindofphysicallylazy.Theywanttostayupallnightandwrite
andsingandsleepallday.Butlikemydad,I getupreallyearly,I workhard
andI gotobedfairlyearly.AndI lovethefactthatI’mnota lazyhead,I’mnot
sluggish.I thinkthat’sbeena bigpartofmysuccess–I’mupandatitbefore
mostpeoplecangetoutofbed.My momand dadwerebothvery proudof me.Mymomwasmorelenient
intheearlydays,sheusedtohavetocoverforme.Mydaddidn’twantme
travelling– traipsingaroundashecalledit– hedidn’tlikemegoingawayto
Nashville.Heandmymomusedtohavewordsaboutthat.SoI’dgobefore
hegothomefromworkandmamahadtodefendmeonthatone.She’d
say,she’salright,andshe’sgonnaleavewhetheryoulikeitornot.Mama
understooditbecauseshewasa dreameralso.Buthewasprettystrict,I
thoughtsometimesintheearlydayshewastoostrict.It’snotthathedidn’t
trust me, he just didn’ttrust the world.But after I movedto Nashvillehe saw
thatI wasseriousaboutitanditwasrealwork,anda dreamthatwasactually
possible.Andhebecamemybiggestfanandbiggestsupporter.Ialwaysknewmy ambitionwas goingto happen,theycouldn’t
preachitoutof me.I wasgoingtobea star,I wasgoingtogoto
Nashville,I wasgoingtosingmysongsnomatterwhat.I wasnevera rebelI
Photo:
Stacie Huckeba Courtesy of Butterfly Records LLC