I will always love you

by chuckofish

I have blogged about or mentioned Dolly over 50 times in my 15 years writing this blog. She has been on my radar for 60+ years.

Somebody compared Dolly’s passing to the death of Queen Elizabeth, and I have to say, there is a lot of truth in that. I mean, can you think of anybody else in America who was so universally loved in his/her lifetime? And she was a queen of sorts, an American queen from the hills of eastern Kentucky. She earned her place as a global icon through hard work, talent and brains. She stayed humble. And she had class. The real kind.

The boy shared this tweet from Spencer Pratt and he says it best:

The boy also shared this tweet from Marshall Mathers (aka Eminem):

That made me almost cry. Of course, she felt some unexplained connection with him.

Above all else, she was a great writer–so many great songs! Jolene, I Will Always Love You, Tennessee Mountain Home.

And remember this great one released on Dolly’s 77th birthday?

But my favorite will always be Coat of Many Colors.

But they didn’t understand it
And I tried to make them see
That one is only poor
Only if they choose to be
Now I know we had no money
But I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me
Made just for me

P.S. This post about Dolly would not be complete without the inclusion of this photo of daughter #2 when she chose Dolly as her 6th grade Reach “creative producer” project. Here she is in costume holding her shoe box Grand Ole Opry for her (1st place) presentation:

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to watch Steel Magnolias tonight and have a real good cry.

Into paradise may the angels lead thee, Dolly. Thanks be to God for the gift of your extraordinary life.