Dolly Parton Quotes

“We always made jokes and said we didn't even know we were poor till some smart aleck up and told us. We didn't have any money, but we were rich in things that money don't buy. You know, like love and kindness and understanding.”

“Oh, no! I'm a working girl. I don't make people bend over backwards, and I don't like that in people.”

“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.”

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain!”

“It's hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.”

“If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.”

“You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try.”

“If you see someone without a smile give them yours.”

“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.”

“If I see something saggin', baggin', or draggin', I'm gonna have it nipped, tucked, or sucked!”

“Dream more, learn more, care more and be more.”

“I wrote "I Will Always Love You," took it back the next day, sat down and played it to him. And he was crying. He said, "That's the best song I've ever heard. And you can go.”

“I don't work for those awards.”

“I'm seventy-seven years old, and I'm a rock star. I get a kick out of it.”

“We're the ones you would consider the Li'l Abner people, Daisy Mae, and that sort of thing—they took that from people like us. But we're a very proud people. People with class—it was country class, but it was a great deal of class.”

“A part of my magic, if there was any, was the fact that I look so artificial but I am so totally real. And I think when you hear these kinds of songs, I think you know that it has to come from the heart.”

“I don't have time to burn out. I'm burning up. Energy begets energy and creativity begets creativity. So I just really have to stay with it. 'Cause I want to see things happen. I want to make things happen.”

“Before he passed away, my Daddy told me the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing I had ever done. I can't tell you how much that meant to me because I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my Daddy. He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams.”

“I said, "I'm sorry, but I can't give you the publishing." I wanted to hear Elvis sing it, and it broke my heart—I cried all night. But I had to keep that copyright in my pocket. You have to take care of your business.”