Dolly parton quotes

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

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.

Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston. I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.'

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

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

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

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

Sometimes my mouth is a little too big and a little too open and sounds too much like a sailor.

I love to make things happen, I love to see things happen, I love to be a part of things that are happening.

The worst thing about poverty is not the actual living of it, but the shame of it.

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

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

There's no such thing as free love. Have you seen the price of Viagra?

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

I bought all those [fitness] videos -- Richard Simmons, Jane Fonda. I love to sit and eat cookies and watch 'em.

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

I think so many people live their whole life in fear and doubt and shame.

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

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

Its hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.

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.

I try to see the good in everybody, and I don't care who people are as long as they're themselves, whatever that is.

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

I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb... and I also know that I'm not blonde.

You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!

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

My songs are like my children - I expect them to support me when I'm old.

You have to work hard, in order to get anything done.

Find out who you are and do it on purpose.

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.

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

My fat never made me less money.

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.

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.

It's a good thing I was born a girl, otherwise I'd be a drag queen.

I make jokes about it, but it's the truth that I kind of patterned my look after the town tramp. I didn't know what she was, just this woman who was blond and piled her hair up, wore high heels and tight skirts, and, boy, she was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. Momma used to say, "Aw, she's just trash," and I thought, That's what I want to be when I grow up. Trash.

When someone shows you their true colors, believe them.

If you're feeling low, don't despair. The sun has a sinking spell every night, but it comes back up every morning.

I always just thought if you see somebody without a smile, give'em yours!

I often joke that 100 years from now I hope people are saying, 'Dang, she looks good for her age!'

Daddy's working boots have taken many steps for us.

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

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.

Jump out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition and yawn and stretch and try to come alive.

God made me the way that I am and it’s my business to be true to that.

Storms make trees take deeper roots.

Those people who wake up and they're just beautiful, they're just born that way. Well that ain't me. I gotta work for everything I've got.

I never tried quitting, and I never quit trying.

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!

I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else.

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.

I think god gave us talent because he screwed up our hair

I was born in an odd spot and was a very sensitive kid. My feelings could get hurt so easily because I always wanted to be loved, I wanted to be touched, I wanted to touch somebody. I wanted everybody to love me, so I think I was louder than I should have been. I was just trying to get attention. I always felt like I was somebody special, maybe it's because I needed to be somebody special.

The only way I'd be caught without makeup is if my radio fell in the bathtub while I was taking a bath and electrocuted me and I was in between makeup at home. I hope my husband would slap a little lipstick on me before he took me to the morgue.

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

I have little feet because nothing grows in the shade.

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

I always ask God to work through me and let me be a light of some kind and help in this world, so I always pray for that, and I always want to do good.

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

God is in everything I do and all my work glorifies Him.

I have been asked to pose for Penthouse on my hundredth birthday. Everybody is going to be sorry.

A lot of people have said I'd have probably done better in my career if I hadn't looked so cheap and gaudy. But I dress to be comfortable for me, and you shouldn't be blamed because you want to look pretty.

If you like good ol' fashion Southern soul food then, yes, I am a good cook! My specialty is chicken dumplings and poke salad.

You can be rich in spirit, kindness, love and all those things that you can't put a dollar sign on.

Love is only as strong as your weakest moment.

When I meet someone, I look at their eyes and their smile and seek out the good first - it's easy to find when you're looking for it. You let a person shine with their own light and try to connect it to yours. As soon as I say hello, I go right to that light and I don't care who you are! I know we're all pieces of the same thing - I go for that common light because I know it's in all of us.

I will never retire unless I have to.

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.

There's nothing like white trash at the White House.

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

It was never a marketing tool. People say that, but I dress this way for the same reasons I did when I first started doing it. It still comes from a serious place inside of me. I get up in the morning, and I think I just look better a certain way I do my makeup. I want to shine, I want to glitter. I'm not getting up thinking, "Oh, this'll get 'em." And I'm not doing it to make a statement. I'm just doing it to look like Dolly - the Dolly that I know and the Dolly that you know.

I think my life actually changed at 40. That's when you realize you can't ride the fence anymore. You either have to get on one side or the other. I think some of my best years were between 40 and 50: I got my priorities straight and life is good to me now. It's only other people who say, "God, she's 50 years old!" as if I'm over the hill. I feel like I just started.

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

I believe above the storm the smallest prayer will still be heard.

I was blessed to have family members who encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Whether it is your parents, or your uncles or your aunts or even the neighbor down the road, it's important that kids have someone who encourages them to chase their rainbow.

Every seven years, I sit down and make a whole new plan.

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

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.

When I'm feeling a little low, I put on my favorite high heels to stand a little taller.

God and I have a great relationship but we both see other people.

Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

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

I love bald men. Just because you've lost your fuzz don't mean you ain't a peach.

I'm old enough and cranky enough now that if someone tried to tell me what to do, I'd tell them where to put it.

You're not going to see your dreams come true if you don't put wings, legs, arms, hands, and feet on 'em.

I've struggled enough in my life to be appreciated and understood. I've had to go against all kinds of people through the years just to be myself. I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love. I don't think we should be judgmental. Lord, I've got enough problems of my own to pass judgment on somebody else.

In the country field, we’re brought up in spiritual homes, we’re taught to “judge not lest you be judged,” and it’s always been a mystery to me how people jump all over things just to criticize, condemn and judge other people when that is so un-Christian – and they claim to be good Christians! We’re supposed to love one another. We’re supposed to accept and love one another. Whether we do or not, that’s a different story. But that’s what we’re supposed to do.

[On why she doesn't exercise:] If I tried to jog with these boobs, I'd end up with two black eyes.

If I see something sagging, dragging and bagging, I’ll get it nip, tucked, sucked or plucked.

I always had a very open mind and a very open heart. I always look for the good in everybody and the God in everybody. I play to that. And I just love people. I love the difference in people. I love getting to know people. I appreciate getting accepted myself, because I know I'm unusual. And I love the unusual in other people.

I had nothing growing up, but I always wanted to be 'sexy,' even before I knew what the word was.

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

I'm like a cartoon! I'll look this way when I'm eighty. I can see it now, people will be rolling me around in a wheelchair and I'll still have my big hair, nails, my high heels and my boobs stuck out!

It's when you treat people like freaks that you become one yourself.

I'm one of those people that if its something to eat I'm going to eat the whole thing, If I'm going to be in love I'm going to love you all the way and if my heart's broken, it's just shattered all to pieces.

Oh, I can spot a phoney a mile away.

When I wake up, I expect things to be good. If they're not, then I try to set about trying to make them as good as I can 'cause I know I'm gonna have to live that day anyway. So why not try to make the most of it if you can? Some days, they pan out a little better than others, but you still gotta always just try.

Adjusting to the passage of time is a key to success and to life: just being able to roll with the punches.

They think I’m simpleminded because I seem to be happy. Why shouldn’t I be happy? I have everything I ever wanted and more. Maybe I am simpleminded. Maybe that’s the key: simple.

No one is ever successful at everything that they do.

Paradise is a state of mind.

If you talk bad about country music, it's like saying bad things about my momma. Them's fightin' words.

The guitar is my favorite and the one, I guess, I'm best at. But I play enough of the different instruments to be able to write with them and to, hopefully, to make myself look impressive on stage.

I often get myself in love trouble because I'm so passionate; I love so much and so deep.

It seems like the more I give the more I get, and that is the way it is supposed to go in life.

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

I'm short and I have a big appetite. I can't do nothing just a little. It's the same with anything I do. It's very hard for me to love a little, have sex a little, to eat a little. I like to do everything, and I like to do it all the way that I want to do it.

I will not play just an evil part. In fact, I got offered $7 million several years ago to play the part that Faye Dunaway played in 'Supergirl.' I was kind of insulted. I was impressed with the money, but I said, 'Why are you asking me to play an evil witch? Do I come across as an evil witch to you?'

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

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

Smile, it enhances your face value.

We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

I remain totally convinced that if we can do one more simple thing to help kids and adults to learn more, it is to inspire them to read more.

I was born with a happy heart, and I try to keep a good attitude. It's not true that I'm happy all the time because nobody is, and we all go through our things.

You can't really make people be any different than what they are.

You can do anything you want to do as long as you keep a good attitude and keep working at it. But the second you give up, you’re screwed.

When its family, you tolerate what you'd kill others for.

I'm no natural beauty. If I'm gonna have any looks at all, I'm gonna have to create them.

I don't know what the big deal is about old age. Old people who shine from the inside look 10 to 20 years younger.

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. In addition to being a wonderful asset to country music, she was a wonderful woman. We will always remember her fondly.

Time marches on and sooner or later you realize it is marching across your face.

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

I'm just a simple country girl.

I hated school. Even to this day, when I see a school bus it's just depressing to me. The poor little kids.

It's not easy being young. It's hard to know what to do.