As I tumbled out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen, I felt the grief hit me again. I was gutted all day yesterday, crying and listening to her songs, crying and reading the copious tributes to her Life, crying for all of us who know there never was and never will be another Dolly Parton Dean.
I was about 14 when Dolly started showing up on my TV, singing with Porter Wagoner, a show I often saw, but seldom watched. She was a fascinating figure with that hair and those boobs, and she became part of our culture. After 9-5 and Steel Magnolias, we realized she was way smarter than anybody in the business, but way more humble than any other human on the planet.
The outpouring of Respect from across the Universe speaks for itself as we mourn her passing. Many have written eulogies better than I can, but as I head out to the dentist I want to share this think…
Dolly’s songs were her babies, and it’s estimated that she gave birth to nearly 3,000 of them. I can’t pick favorites, but this is among my top 5; someone, somewhere, everywhere, needs to hear it today.
Dolly talked about how it was written, just after her bitter parting with Wagoner (who sued her for 3million – she always said he got the first million dollars she made)…
As I left his office and began to drive toward my home out in Brentwood, it began to rain.
So did I. I cried. Not so much out of a sense of loss, but from the pain that almost always comes with change. It has a sad kind of freedom.
Then, I began to sing a song to myself: ‘it’s been a long dark night and I’ve been a-waiting for the morning. It’s been a long hard fight, but I see a brand new day dawning. I’ve been looking for the sunshine; you know I ain’t seen it in so long. But everything’s gonna work out just fine. And everything’s gonna be all right that’s been all wrong. I can see the light of a clear blue morning.’
And, I swear to you on my life as I said that the sky cleared up, it stopped raining, the sun came out. And before I got home, I had completely written the song called ‘Light of a Clear Blue Morning.”
Released in 1977, it’s typical of Dolly’s uncanny ability to make us all feel better.
“Cause I am strong and I can prove it
And I got my dreams to see me through
It’s just a mountain, I can move it
And with faith enough, there’s nothin’ I can’t do“
Everything’s gonna be all right, it’s gonna be okay…
Crying again…Sending Love to y’all…
Peace
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