Happy Birthday Dolly Parton
As I learned on my friend Stephanie’s Facebook page, Dolly Parton turned 65 today. She also posted this riveting video below from one of Dolly’s performances on the Porter Wagoner show that I’m not sure many people know the story behind. In addition, I wanted to do my part in spreading the birthday love for the impact she has had on my life, the United States and the world in general.
Interestingly, the YouTube description says that she wrote this after breaking up with the guy for whose show she was doing this very performance. Could you believe that? It would be like Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake breaking up and then Justin Timberlake writing a song about it telling her to cry him a river and then having Brittany appear in the music video. Can you imagine? Yes, it would be just like that, only a touch sweeter. Now, I am not from this generation, so I can only imagine how the conversation went down. However, I’m thinking it went something like this:
Porter: I’m breaking up with you.
Dolly: You will always have a special place in my chestheart.
Porter: Please stick around and continue to perform on my show.
Dolly: I would only be in your way hunny.
Porter: I wish you wouldn’t be so nice. The way you are handling this with such tenderness is tearing me apart with confusion over whether I am doing the right thing.
Dolly I…. (tearing up) will always… (single tear streaking down face)…. love you (full blown tears).
Porter: Will you at least do one more performance on my show?
Dolly: Yes darling. And it will be just for you.
I believe this was the result. As you’re watching, feel free to clap along with the crowd. They have a good sense of timing.
His major contribution to the world was not a set of aphorisms. He was born in a turdy barn, grew up in a dirty world, got baptized in a muddy river. He put his hands on the oozing wounds of lepers, he let whores brush his hair and soldiers pull it out. He went to dinner with dirtbags, both religious and irreligious. His closest friends were a collection of crude fishermen and cultural traitors. He felt the spittle of the Pharisees on his face and the metal hooks of the jailer’s whip in the flesh of his back. He got sweaty and dirty and bloody – and he took all of the sin and mess of the world onto himself, onto the cross to which he was nailed naked.