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Of a simpler time : Dolly Parton

Thank you for being a friend to a little girl lost in the mountains, Dolly

By Faye WildePublished 4 years ago 3 min read
5

Jolene, Jolene, jolene, jolene,

That song quickly became the bane of my families existence. I felt no shame in blasting it as loud as I possibly could from my little clock speaker, singing my little heart out.

Dolly Parton, you hold a special place in my heart and had been a fond memory through childhood.

Occasionally your song will pop up and I will be taken to a different place, a simpler time. When I hear Dolly Parton I am reminded of the icy cold winters deep in the rocky mountains, or the mild summers of our hidden Vale.

I would be hunched over my desk, doodling to my hearts content while Two Doors Down or a Coat of Many Colours kept me company.

While we were never dirt poor, we lay well below the poverty line and I don't remember ever having a new coat. We had a Dorcas (A free charity shop) hidden on the outskirts of town that we visited once a year. There we found piles and piles of old winter coats and I got to pick whichever I wanted.

The Coat of Many Colours reminds me of those days - when I had no concept of not having something fancy - I was just excited to get a new winter coat that would keep me warm in the negative forty of our Mountain Valley.

I was not allowed out of my room until 7:30 (I was allowed the bathroom, never you fear) as I was not a quiet child and would make an awful mess in the kitchen. So, as early as five every morning I would carefully bump the volume up, one notch at a time and Dolly Parton was what got my day started. I found the perfect number, I think it was Volume 5 - it was loud enough to fill my little room, but it didn't disturb my parents just across the hall.

I felt I had a friend in Dolly - I remember I was excited to find her songs because my mother had nicknamed me Dolly and I thought it would have been fun to actually have Dolly as my name, as she did.

Dolly's story became important to me and through her I dreamed, and I dreamed big. While those dreams have toned down a tad, I still give her credit for many aspects of who I am today. Her music touched a young girl, who's life, while beautiful, was full of ups and downs.

While I never had her posters plastered on my walls (that was reserved for majestical horses, and nothing else) I coveted her CD's if I could get them.

I remember sitting on my bed with friends listening to Jolene, I think they got upset with me because I couldn't help singing along and they just wanted to listen to her. Maybe I sounded really bad! But that was what Dolly's music was like for me. It filled my heart and I had to sing along with it - her songs will still enter my head, every now and then and I'm filled with a longing for the simple times of childhood.

Her songs remind me of camaraderie, of working hard as a family, together, of connection and community - a time a little less lonely and full of expectations as now.

So I say thank you to Dolly Parton for reminding me of better times and of being a good friend to a little girl lost in the mountains.

Faye

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About the Creator

Faye Wilde

Just a girl figuring out life - using the power of the written word to share with the world the truth of living with a Military father, Homesteading, Loneliness and the true beauty of the simple act of Living.

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