Remembering Dolly Parton: From the Great Smoky Mountains Her Songs Will Always Echo Across America and Beyond

For three decades, the Tennessee Valley was more than a place we lived. It became a soundtrack, a landscape, and a collection of memories that still feel as warm, and musical as a summer afternoon spent in  the great Smoky Mountains.

We drove from Nashville, and Huntsville , with friends, and family, up the winding roads toward Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, and the Great Smoky Mountains with the kids in the back seat, the windows down, and Dolly Parton singing from the speakers. There was always a moment when someone would start singing along with a southern drawl, ‘Nine to Five“, and “Jolene, Jolene… I am begging of you please don’t take my man…” and before long, the whole car was laughing and singing together. Those songs became part of our impromptu antakashri competitions, woven hilariously into Bollywood melodies. The memorable summer vacations, mountain drives, and glorious days circle back like a hearty southern breakfast of buttermilk pancakes, strawberries, and fresh cream. And live concerts in Pigeon Forge.

Dolly Parton’s glamorous persona was everywhere. Her stage ensemble, the high platinum-blond wigs, the dazzle, the crystalline soprano voice, and that mischievous, personable quality that made her both larger than life and completely approachable.

Beneath all the razzle-dazzle was a yearning of a woman. A child who had known hardship, but had worked relentlessly to forge her way. Dolly Parton never forgot her roots. Born in 1946, one of twelve children raised in a humble cabin in the Tennessee mountains. Her family lived with very little, but the Appalachian soil gave her a treasure. 

Her road to Nashville Music Hall of Fame wasn’t easy. She faced rejection and criticism, yet she kept writing and performing until there was simply no denying her talent. She could move effortlessly between country, pop, and gospel. Dolly’s yen for storytelling, her strength steeped in family values. An ability to laugh in the face of heartbreak, and failure became her touchstone. Inspired by early country legends like the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, her craft was amplified by the historic Grand Ole Opry.

Beneath all the razzle-dazzle was a yearning of a woman. A child who had known hardship, but had worked relentlessly to forge her way. Dolly Parton never forgot her roots.

Parton’s songs are an integral part of the American story. Her iconic tracks—”Jolene,” the tender farewell of “I Will Always Love You,” the working-woman’s anthem “9 to 5,” and the pop-crossover success of “Here You Come Again”, draw direct inspiration from her real-life encounters.  

I remember sharing the story of “Jolene” with my father, as we dug into a plate of fresh pastries on the Cumberland  river on the  General Jackson Showboat we boarded from the Opry Mille, near the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville. He smiled at the twinge of insecurity Dolly felt when a red-haired bank teller paid attention to her husband, Carl Dean. Somehow that personal anecdote became one of the most recognizable songs in her music history! The bank teller wasn’t named Jolene; Dolly later borrowed the name from a young red-haired, green-eyed girl she met at a concert. Inadvertently, I have always been on the lookout for Dolly’s “Jolene”. 

I get chills every time I listen to the live rendition of the musical a cappella start of “I Will Always Love You,” a song that was released in 1974 by Dolly, as a tender farewell to her mentor: Porter Wagoner. The gradual layering, a delicate piano, and subtle string quartered enhances the vocals. Deeply satisfying to listen to, and to sing-along. “I Will Always Love You” twice reached top spot for the U.S. Country Songs Chart. Whitney Houston recorded it in 1992. It became a worldwide phenomenon!   

And, for those lucky enough to have met her in person, there was another memory to hold onto: the person behind the legend. The stage sparkle could fill a room, but it was her warmth and graciousness lingered in your heart, like sweet tea.

That may be Dolly’s greatest legacy. Not simply the records, the awards, the movies, the wigs, the rhinestones, or even Dollywood itself, but her message. That you could come from very little and still dream extravagantly; that you could be glamorous and funny and vulnerable; that you could work hard without losing your kindness; and that you could carry your home with you wherever you went.

Spending three decades in the Tennessee Valley taught us that places become precious because of the lives we live in them. For our family, those lives included our friends, arts, and crafts, funnel cake, caramel apples, the verdant beauty of rolling hills dotted with cows, red barns, long summer drives into the fog-covered mountains, sleeping in log cabins, Dollywood roller coasters, children’s laughter, and Dolly Parton’s voice coming through the speakers.

Years later, we have left the white southern porches behind, and the children who sang “Jolene” in the back seat have grown up. But the oak-leaf hydrangeas still bloom, but somewhere on the porch swing looking upon the Smoky mountains, Dolly is still singing. And her sweet voice is echoing into living rooms across America.

Bittersweet memories
That is all I’m taking with me
So goodbye, please don’t cry
We both know I’m not what you, you need
And I will always love you
I will always love you
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you’ve dreamed of
And I wish you joy and happiness
But above all this, I wish you love
And I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you

---

With roots in Georgia and the Bay Area, and her heart still tethered to a childhood mango tree in Mumbai, India, Monita Soni approaches writing as a contemplative practice. A path to honor humanity. She has published hundreds of movie reviews, book critiques, poems, and essays, and contributed to combined literary works. Her two  books are “My Light Reflections” and “Flow Through My Heart.” You can hear her commentaries on Sundial Writers Corner, WLRH 89.3 FM.