Quotes by Dolly Parton

Wildflowers don't care where they grow.

We could afford the price of peace. Love is all it costs.

Yeah I flirt, I'm not blind and I'm not dead!

Paradise is a state of mind.

Find out who you are and do it on purpose.

If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.

Depression runs in my family on both sides, and I have to be wary.

Storms make trees take deeper roots.

No, I can't do rap music!

Once a week with a load of moonshine And the wounds that came from that won't ever heal Cause on a moonshine run one rainy night My two brothers lost their lives And oh my God how I despise My daddy's moonshine still.

You always want your people to be proud of what you have accomplished.

You take the trouble as it comes And love 'em more than anyone Good or bad or indifferent It's still family.

And when it's family, you trust them And your heart's an open door When it's family, you tolerate What you'd kill others for.

When it's family, you forgive them For they know not what they do When it's family, you accept them 'Cause you have no choice but to.

Kitty Wells was the first and only Queen of Country Music, no matter what they call the rest of us. She was a great inspiration to me as well as every other female singer in the country music business.

Two doors down they're laughing and drinking and having a party And two doors down they're not aware that I'm around But here I am crying my heart out, feeling sorry But they're having a party just two doors down.

And she's a sparrow when she's broken But she's an eagle when she flies.

If you ever say another word about me or make another indecent proposal, I'm gonna get that gun of mine and I'll change you from a rooster to a hen with one shot.

One of the things I'm real proud of is I just made a deal with 20th Century Fox, and I've got my own production company now. I'm developing some television and movies for other people because I have a lot of fresh new ideas. To write is what I love the most.

I love the energy of children. It makes me feel young. I'm just drawn to them. They're like magic to me. And they're drawn to me, the childlike part of me that never did grow up.

Money is like the tide: It rolls in and it rolls out. If you clutch it, you are not going to keep it.

If you try to follow everyone else and be like everyone else, before you know it you're gone. You're not going to find yourself again; you'll just be a version of what you might have hoped to have been.

I'm just a singer songwriter and entertainer and I miss people and the energy of the crowd. When I play live it's a lovefest with me and my audience. It's how I get my rocks off.

I know my hair is out of the '60's, my clothes are '50's and the shoes I wear are from the '40's. But I like looking like I came out of a fairy tale.

I strengthen the muscles around my heart, but I can't harden it.

I've always believed in my talent. And I've always had more guts than talent.

They let you dream just to watch them shatter, you're just a step on the boss man's ladder.

When people say to me less is more I reply, 'More is more'.

I learned early on that I could get a lot of attention by singing and writing little songs, so it was like throwing nuts to a monkey... I just couldn't get enough.

I'll be wearing my high heels, even if I'm up to my knees in mud.

We're phonies if we're not exactly who we are.

Be whatever your dreams and your luck will let you be.

A peacock that rests on his feathers is just another turkey.

I hope you're never happy with anybody but me, and every face you look into, I hope you're haunted by me. Yes, I'm possessive and jealous, at least I speak honestly.

There's a lot of rednecks in the country where I grew up.

I'm in showbiz. I look at my boobs like they're show horses or show dogs. You've got to keep them groomed.

There's a lot of women now with a whole lot of style but they are not necessarily song stylists. Some of their style is a lot like me and a lot of people sound a lot alike -- you can't tell them apart.

Wouldn't it be something if we could have things we love in abudance without their losing that special attraction the want of them held for us.

Lots of women buy just as many wigs and makeup things as I do ... They just don't wear them all at the same time.

I've... been accused of being involved with every man I'm ever seen with or worked with. Maybe I have, maybe I ain't. I never tell if I have.

I usually eat breakfast twice. I'm usually up at 3 a.m. -- do my spiritual work, my affirmations, a little bit of songwriting, get my daily work in order, and by that time I've worked up a bigger appetite.

I'll be like Bob Hope, touring when I'm 100.

The magic is inside you. there ain't no crystal ball.

I try to be good at it, whatever part I'm playing -- even in my daily life or when the spotlight hits me on the stage to perform -- I gotta be alive every second in this world. With or without the applause!

Smile, it increases you face value.

Smile, it enhances your face value.

I just love life. I love people. I love to write, that's my gift. I love to sing. I have a good attitude. I like to think I shine from the inside.

It's great at this stage in my life to still be in the running, that people appreciate you.

What people do behind closed doors is certainly not my concern unless I'm there with them.

Living in America and, of course, just being women in general, we've got more strength than we think we do.

Working nine to five, what way to earn a living.

Barely getting by... It's all taking and no giving.

They use just your mind and they never give you credit.

It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it!

I compare myself to a good barn. You can have a good barn, and if you paint it, it looks a little better. But if you take the paint off, it's still a good barn.

I write anywhere. I'm always banging around on the dashboard. Whatever I'm doing. I can make music out of anything. Whenever a song hits me, I'll pick some sort of melody or rhythm out on it, and kind of enhance the song.

I don't trust anyone who does their own hair. I don't think it's natural.

I'd love to develop and star in my own children's show, write children's books, do children's albums, movies, DVDs, etc.

If people think I'm a dumb blonde, because of the way I look, then they're dumber than they think I am. If people think I'm not very deep because of my wigs and outfits, then they're not very deep.

I never, ever get involved in politics. With politics you are not allowed to be honest. I don't have time to deal with that. I would rather work with kids.

Understanding isn't learned from punishment and anger. An iron has no gentle touch, and love ain't learned from hate.

Wondering if God loves us when we're cheating? Oh, but why he lets us feel things, if it's wrong.

George Jones was my all time favorite singer and one of my favorite people in the world.

I think gay couples should be allowed to marry. They should suffer just like us heterosexuals.

I think everyone should be with who they love. I don't want to be controversial or stir up a bunch of trouble but people are going to love who they are going to love. I think gay couples should be allowed to marry. They should suffer just like us heterosexuals. Ha ha ha!

Hello God, if we are still on speaking terms, can you help me?

Having a big gay following, I get hate mail and threats. Some people are blind or ignorant, and you can't be that prejudiced and hateful and go through this world and still be happy.

I always loved books. I don't remember learning to read, it was just something I always did. I was hungry for knowledge, I guess, and information; I was a curious kid. I still am.

I don't listen to music for fun. I ain't got enough time for fun! I'm always busy writing my own music. I don't try to compete or see what other people are doing.

I'll just wait right here for you cause I know your new love won't last. I wound easy, but I heal fast.

I'm no angel if that's what you thought you found. I was just the victim of a man that let me down.

All the fame and fortune, glory and prestige, can't make me happy if it goes against what I believe.

We're supposed to be less judgmental and accept and be kind and love one another.

I have a strict policy that nobody cries alone in my presence.

I love thinking, I love coming up with great ideas. I just get excited. Sometimes if I get a big idea, I'm just like a kid, like I've found a new toy.

You'll pay the highest price on back roads and in back seats and in a cheap highway motel. But what's a few more strangers in a life of nothing else.

With the first money I ever made I bought my Mommy and Daddy a car, and helped them fix their house up.

I describe my look as a blend of mother goose, cinderella, and the local hooker!

I count my blessings far more than I count my money.

Music lives in me. Life is a song to me. I have the gift of rhyme, and I'm always trying to write and rhyme. Music is just natural everyday occurrence with me.

I've never been more moved by a voice than I have been by Roy Orbison. I loved him personally, and I loved his voice. I think of him often and frequently listen to his songs.

People just relate to me. They know I'm a regular person brought up in a hardworking, poor family, that I've had all the struggles that people have. I'm just a friendly person. And I hopefully have a good sense of humor. People get a kick out of my stupidity.

I'm a proud person. I'm not vain. I look at it like it is. If you've got the money and you're going to be out there, you owe it to people not to look like a dog if you can help it.

My husband said 'show me your boobs' and I had to pull up my skirt... so it was time to get them done!

It's almost like being trapped in some other form. The real me is so different from the way I look on the outside.

Now I usually try not to give advice. Information, yes, advice, no. But, what has worked for me may not work for you. Well, take for instance what has worked for me. Wigs. Tight clothes. Push up bras.

I'm in the public eye, so I don't care who knows what I get done. If I see something sagging, dragging, or bagging, I get it sucked, tucked, or plucked.

I'm a show-off basically... always have been.

That's the great thing about a sense of humor and a sex drive, you can't wait to share it with everybody else.

I think that all creative people are a little bit nuts.

Even now, if I am thinking about spending a lot of money on clothing or furniture, I think 'I can't spend so much money on one thing; my poor old Daddy could have raised his family five years on that!'

Being a star just means that you just find your own special place and that you shine where you are. To me that's what being a star means.

That traveling man was a two time lover, he took my love, then he took my mother.

I just try to be true to myself and look the way that I'm comfortable looking. Because if I'm comfortable with me, then you're going to be comfortable with me as well.

I love the accomplishments and the awards that I've received through the years. But I've always worked more for the rewards than the awards. I've always counted my blessings before I've counted my money. I'm glad that new dreams come to me everyday.

Is forever longer than always?

Sometimes when I'm under pressure, if I think somebody is expecting stuff from me, I'll do better than if I was just left on my own. I can sit down -- I'm a skilled writer, I've been doing it all my life -- and I can get down to it.

Sometimes a song just has to cater to whatever's goin' on. A well-written song is a song that stays true to the subject.

Sometimes I start with a great title or idea, sometimes a great melody will run through my mind; but the higher percentage of the time, the words and music pretty much come at the same time.

I don't keep up with a lot of trends. I've never been a fashion horse. I'm so busy writing my songs, trying to maintain my business, and all the new things that come along. I stay working all the time.

I always love working with children. I never had children of my own. God has his purposes. God didn't let me have children so everybody's children could be mine. That's kind of how I'm looking at it.

I just write all the time. In my whole life I've never had what I've heard people talk about writer's block. I've never had that. Life is like a song to me. I just hear everything in music, so I have never once thought Well, I'm never gonna be able to write again. I've got thousands of songs.

I stay close to my roots and my family. I never want to forget any part of it. I'm still just a hillbilly at heart, thus a Backwoods Barbie.

I believe in my cosmetics line. There are plenty of charities for the homeless. Isn't it time someone helped the homely?

Being born was the worse and the first mistake I ever made. The doctor didn't spank me, he just slapped me in the face.

I write what I write, say what I say, 'cause I feel what I feel, and if I did it different, it would make me a liar! So I'd rather be an honest person than a good liar.

Don't judge me by the cover, 'cause I'm a real good book.

After Momma gave birth to twelve of us kids, we put her up on a pedestal. It was mostly to keep Daddy away from her.

If people work for me over the years, I expect them to be paid what they're owed, but I don't expect them to be paid more than they earn.

I'm not like a real person. I love being artificial. I think there's a little magic in the fact that I'm so totally real, but look so artificial at the same time.

Mine is a jealous heart, imagines things that never are.

I don't want to throw rice. I want to throw rocks.

My grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. It was a sin to even pluck your eyebrows, and they thought it was a sin for me to be there looking like Jezebel.

When I do listen to music, I'm more prone to listen to the people I've always listened to: George Jones, Otis Redding, Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris.

When I have sex with my husband, I fantasize I am with a petite, hot young woman.

People say you shouldn't have plastic surgery because if God wanted you another way he would have made you that way, but I say that's a lot of crock. If God didn't want plastic surgeons, he wouldn't have given them hands to work with.

We give scholarships to high school kids and a new library of books to every preschool child in the county where I was born. I didn't have books at home so I did all my reading at school. I love books and I believe that helping kids to read gives them a great start in life.

Love is like a butterfly
As soft and gentle as a sigh
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing.

When I sit back in my rocking chair someday, I want to be able to say I've done it all.

I'm the kind of person who would rather rock in my rocking chair when I'm old and regret a few things that I did than to sit there and regret that I never tried.

Now Momma's done away with the old black kettle she used to cook in when I was just littleAnd the door ain't sprung on her electric rangeThat little old farm and home we had it ain't there no more and that's too badFolks are doing away with the simple things.

Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams. All of them are different styles, but those are the songs that make the times. They're the songs that last through time.

Islands in the streams, that is what we are.

I wear make-up, and it gets a little bit thicker every year.

My aunt in Knoxville would bring newspapers up, which we used for toilet paper. Before we used it, we'd look at the pictures.

Sometimes I like to run naked in the moonlight and the wind, on a little trail behind our house, when the honeysuckle blooms. It's a feeling of freedom, so close to God and nature.

I still believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and true love. Don't even try to tell me different.

To me it's a two-way street. They're good to me, and I'm good to them. It's a natural thing for me to love people, and I think people sense it. ... I am secure with the kind of person I am. I don't feel like I'm better than anyone, but I'm just as good as anyone.

I do have big tits. Always had 'em -- pushed 'em up, whacked 'em around. Why not make fun of 'em? I've made a fortune with 'em.

I've often said I don't lose my temper as much as use it. I don't do either unless I have to because I love peace and harmony, but when you step in my territory, I will call you on it.

The way i see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta out up with the rain.

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. When I'm inspired, I get excited because I can't wait to see what I'll come up with next. Find out who you are and do it on purpose.

I love watching keep-fit videos while munching chocolate chip cookies.

I've always been a freak and different, oddball even in my childhood and my own family, so I can relate to people who are struggling and trying to find their true identity. I do not sit in the seat of judgment. .. I love people for who they are. We're all God's children.

First thing I do in the morning, after I have my breakfast and do my spiritual work, is put on my makeup and fix my hair, and I can do my makeup in 15 minutes.

If I have one more facelift I'll have a beard!

I tried the Scarsdale diet and the Stillman water diet (you remember that one, where you run weight off trying to get to the bathroom).

I tried every diet in the book. I tried some that weren't in the book. I tried eating the book. It tasted better than most of the diets.

I do wear wigs. ... I sometimes make the joke about me standing on a hilltop with my hair blowing in the wind -- and me too proud to run after it.

I think being poor has been good for me. I saw how my mom and dad struggled, and how they could stretch a dollar farther than you could begin to imagine.

You can bet there's something fishy going on. I guess some large mouth bass left that lipstick on our shirt.

I have just one tube of lipstick, but it's as big as a can of hairspray.

Well, my smile's pretty hard to miss, considering I'm a gal who likes her lipstick-the redder the better.

I'm very open with my business partners, just like I am with my husband.

If I hadn't been a woman, I'd have been a drag queen.

Leave something good in every day.

Love is something sent from Heaven to worry the Hell out of you.

A positive attitude and a sense of humor go together like biscuits and gravy.

Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.

I'm a fool to keep staying, when you've made hurting me such an art.

If we all climb together, we could climb the highest hill.

I'm on a seefood diet. I see food, I eat it.

Less is not more. More is more.

Some of my dreams are so big they would scare you.

A great smile is a wonderful asset, but a good heart is pure gold.

I hope life treats you kind, and I hope you have all that you ever dreamed of, and I wish you joy and happiness. But above all of this, I wish you love.

A bird and a fish can fall in love, but where do they make a home?

I want to be like one of those little fainting goats that get scared and then just fall over. I want to go and go and then drop dead in the middle of something I'm loving to do. And if that doesn't happen, if I wind up sitting in a wheelchair, at least I'll have my high heels on.

Got those moods a swinging, tears a slinging, nothing fits me, when it hits me, ranting, raving, misbehaving, PMS blues.

I met my husband before I became a star, and he doesn't care about any of it.

I can be accused of trying to be commercial sometimes.

People just overshoot trying to find God. They're going outside and trying everything. They don't realize that it's right inside themselves.

I wouldn't wanna go out not looking like the Dolly people have come to know, because I've come to know her that way, too.

Every time I come to Europe, I'm just as excited as I was my very first time, which was many, many years ago. I love that part of the world, and I especially love the fans.

It's always great to perform at home in the good ol' U.S.A.

'Wrecking Ball' is a great song.

I would honestly say that with all the awards and all the other things that I've done in my life, Dollywood is one of the greatest dreams that I've ever had come true -- I am so proud of that I can't even begin to tell you, Dollywood is real special to me.

Years ago, when I first started being a big star, I had fans that were fanatical. It was when 'Jolene' was a big hit.

I don't like to get involved in things that I am not familiar with. I'm kind of a hands-on type of person.

My mother was always fascinated with the fact that I could rhyme so much stuff.

My husband and I had to raise five of my younger brothers and sisters. They lived with us. We sent them to school.

I have a tendency to be awfully big-hearted and it's very hard for me to say no, even when I need to.

I've never had a divorce, but I've seen so many of my friends, my sister, my family go through that stuff, so I try to write for the people that can't write about it. I take on their sorrow, so I'm able to kind of express it, or their joy.

My life has been very full.

I've tried different things through the years to get some play on mainstream. I'll try to tailor-make it.

I think I've got my business notions and my sense for that sort of thing from my dad. My dad never had a chance to go to school. He couldn't read and write. But he was so smart. He was just one of those people that could just make the most of anything and everything that he had to work with.

I was probably 7 years old when I started playing the guitar and writing some serious songs.

I still close my eyes and go home -- I can always draw from that.

I was the first woman to burn my bra -- it took the fire department four days to put it out.

My grandpa was a preacher.

I think that I know the value of a dollar.

'Jolene' has been very popular all of these years, even overseas.

There are certainly a lot of things that still need to change when it comes to women in the workforce.

I walk tall; I got a tall attitude.

I don't think I'm supposed to boss other people around just because I'm a so-called celebrity or star. I hate that when people act that way. No one deserves it. I've seen it happen. I don't call those people out -- they know who they are. Some enjoy that reputation.

I've never had that much trouble with the paparazzi, but I don't run the same circles that a lot of these people that do get hounded by the paparazzi.

My philosophy is simple: It's a down-home, common, horse-sense approach to things.

All of my brothers and sisters are very talented. They all sang all right.