The Mt Kenya Times 
Dolly Parton
By Wanjohi P Mugambi
Dolly Parton beloved queen of country music was not just a celebrated singer who wrote more than 3000 songs but was a great person in world history. Born and raised in a large family Dolly knew what poverty is. She understood the pain of going to bed hungry, having to share one plate of food with his siblings. Just as a little girl in Tennessee, Dolly wanted to make a change to the world. Not just for her family but also for the universal world. In one interview Dolly explained her fathers struggle in raising her and her siblings. It was never a walk in the park. In one time Dolly explains that she was forced by circumstances to take care of her little sibling who later died when she was just 9 years old. How devastating. Losing someone at that age was heartbreaking. Dolly felt it. That is how her music started. At just the age of ten, Dolly started singing. Her career. A legacy in country music that went to a span of seven decades. Yes, I literally mean 70 years in music.
Her music had roots. Told by her stories. Her song, “Coat of Many Colors,” is one of the celebrated songs. Telling a story of a little girl who loved life though life was never fair. And i quote, “Though we had no money, but i was rich as I could be in my coat of many colors, mama made for me.” Even when she hit fame, she never forgot that coat of many colors that her mother made for her. With this she gave back. Gave back to the community that she was once a little girl in that cabin. She never stopped there. She continued singing. Loving what she does. Doing it with all love.
Dolly was a family person. She got married to the love of her life but she loved keeping her family matters to herself. With a sense of humor she got into movies. She filled many families with laughter every evening and night when they were watching her on their televisions. God did love her. But just one thing she didn’t have, children. Not that she didn’t try to have one. Yes, just like any other married woman she tried to have kids but unfortunately she didn’t. She explains that in her first years in marriage she felt that pain. The pain however didn’t hurt her for long, she understood how to turn her pain into her gain. She says in one of her interviews that she later understood that she was a mother to everyone. Actually she was a mother to millions of children across America and in different continents. Her determination kept her going.
America knew her. The White house was her friend. She was for the first time welcomed at the White House in 1979. The then president of the United State of America, lover of country Music was her friend and with what she was doing she eventually earned her place there. Also, her love in the White House now that she is with the Lord has been felt by the different tribute from former presidents. Presidents indeed mourned a great Icon in American History. A mother to many. Former President Bill Clinton paid her tribute by acknowledging a life that was felt across the globe. His wife Sen. Hillary Clinton expressed that Dolly Parton, Queen of Country Music knew what she should do, how she could do, and to who she should do the act to.
Dolly Parton was a philathropist. In 1995 in record she started her Imaginary Library that would distrubute books to little children upto yhe age of five. Filled with the love of reading and writing she started the Imaginary Library in her Hometown. She explains that this was in the honor of her father whom she calls The smartest man in the world yet she says her father never knew to read and write in those times. Through her Imaginary Library she has distributed more than 200 millions books across America. From 1995 it is. That explains the love. Persons in America from the age of 31 have benefitted from her work. That explains the love. Again, it should be noted that she loved the society she grew up in. She found out that the level of dropout in her community was at 35%. Knowing this she started an initiative of giving out scholarships and even getting into contracts with students that once you finish your studies you get a gift of 500 dollars. That was more money. She was ready to part with it to make the lives of others better. It bared fruits. The rate of dropout dropped to 5% up to now.
Dolly’s work of Love is felt by many. During the wildfire, she donated 1000 dollars to every family victim. In accounts it is said that even her donation was earlier than that of the government.
She has done a lot with love. She donated a lot in the health sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Dollywood her legacy remains.
She never changed. She loved her looks that never changed. Inspired by a lady in her town she wanted to be pretty and truly she was in her looks and even in heart. Who would look like her at her age? She always made fun of it even on our screens and truly as President Donald Trump said, No one was like her, Never would there be someone like her. Dolly lived a life. From a little cabin she became a household name. She became a great Icon. A queen of Country Music. A mother to many. A great leader. American Flags are half-staff for her legacy. She is more than just a legacy. She is History made known to the world. She is a queen, and the generations to come will hear her stories. Through Music, through the library and most of all in what she told us, A recorded song that will be opened in 2045 locked in Dolloywood. We loved you Dolly.
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