Dolly devotees and country music enthusiasts, are you ready for a dose of pure, unadulterated Dolly wisdom?
You know her for her chart-topping hits, her larger-than-life personality, and of course, that iconic blonde hair. But did you know Dolly’s also a bonafide philosopher in rhinestone-studded disguise?
From love and life to success and self-confidence, Dolly’s got a quip for every occasion. Let’s check out this treasure trove of Dolly-isms that’ll have you laughing, nodding in agreement, and maybe even shedding a tear or two.
1. “The magic is inside you. There ain’t no crystal ball.”
2. “You don’t have to look like everybody else. You don’t have to be a raving beauty to be special and to be beautiful.”
3. “I do believe that any successful business starts from the top and works its way down.”
4. “Never ignore your roots, your home, or your hair.”
5. “You gotta keep trying to find your niche and trying to fit into whatever slot that’s left for you or to make one of your own.”
6. “I never let a rhinestone go unturned!”
7. “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
8. “If you see someone without a smile give them yours.”
9. “I’m just a simple country girl.”
10. “Smile, it increases your face value.”
11. “You always want your people to be proud of what you have accomplished.”
12. “A loose tongue can lead to broken teeth.”
13. “I’m not happy all the time, and I wouldn’t want to be because that would make me a shallow person. But I do try to find the good in everybody.”
14. “I ask God every day to lead me, guide me and direct me, to take the wrong people out of my life, put the right people in. As I get older, I’m even stronger in my faith.”
15. “I’m a working girl. I don’t make people bend over backwards, and I don’t like that in people. I am definitely no diva.”
16. “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.”
17. “People always ask me how long it takes to do my hair. I don’t know, I’m never there.”
18. “I think of country radio like a great lover: you were nice to me, you gave me a lot of cool stuff, and then you dumped my ass for another woman.”
19. “We just gotta do our best day-to-day, be the best person we can, do the best work we can, and just keep on dreamin’.”
20. “I say that I’m as old as yesterday, but hopefully as new as tomorrow.”
21. “It’s hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.”
22. “When I got somethin’ to say, I’ll say it.”
23. “I just depend on a lot of prayer and meditation. I believe that without God I am nobody, but that with God, I can do anything.”
24. “Above everything else I’ve done, I’ve always said I’ve had more guts than I’ve got talent.”
25. “You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”
26. “Find out who you are. And do it on purpose.”
27. “When someone shows you their true colors, believe them.”
28. “I always just thought if you see somebody without a smile, give ’em yours!”
29. “Prayer is not a formal affair, it’s more a come-as-you-are.”
30. “I was born with a happy heart. I’m always looking for things to be better.”
31. “Tell me I have to be somewhere, and I’ll be there 20 minutes early and stay there longer than anybody else. You hold up a lot of people if you’re not on time.”
32. “Me and God have a great relationship, but we’re both seeing other people.”
33. “My songs are like my children — I expect them to support me when I’m old.”
34. “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”
35. “I know who I am, I know what I can and can’t do. I know what I will and won’t do. I know what I’m capable of and I don’t agree to do things that I don’t think I can pull off.”
36. “I like all that frilly stuff. Like I’ve always said, it’s a good thing I was a girl, or I’d definitely have been a drag queen! Most definitely.”
37. “I would never stoop so low as to be fashionable.”
38. “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.”
39. “I’m proud of my hillbilly, white trash background. To me that keeps you humble, that keeps you good. And it doesn’t matter how hard you try to outrun it—if that’s who you are, that’s who you are. It’ll show up once in a while.”
40. “People say I look so happy; and I say, ‘That’s the Botox.’”
41. “Yes, I support gay marriage. They have every right to be as miserable as straight people.”
42. “Dreams are of no value if they’re not equipped with wings!”
43. “Every single diet I ever fell off of was because of potatoes and gravy of some sort.”
44. “We need to believe in something bigger than ourselves, otherwise we just become egomaniacs. If you don’t have something to look forward to and lean on, it’s a hard fall when [bad] things happen.”
45. “I always count my blessings more than I count my money. I don’t work for money, never did.”
46. “You don’t even have to believe in anything to be good to people. You should just know you should be a good human being.”
47. “I never think of myself as a star. I think of myself as a working woman. And this is the job I love. And I’m grateful that I get to make a good living at what I love to do.”
48. “I have pretty good skin considering my age, and I think a lot of it is mineral oil and bacon grease.”
49. “Sometimes my mouth is a little too big and a little too open and sounds too much like a sailor.”
50. “I have a strict policy that nobody cries alone in my presence.”
51. “I’m very real where it counts, and that’s inside.”
52. “Anyone who says you can’t take it with you has never seen me pack.”
53. “Being a star just means that you just find your own special place and that you shine where you are.”
54. “I know how to stand my ground. I know how to speak up. I know how to stand sturdy. But that doesn’t mean I’ve hardened my heart.”
55. “If you talk bad about country music, it’s like saying bad things about my momma. Them’s fightin’ words.”
Now you’ve got a roundup of Dolly’s finest words of wisdom that is sweeter than her Tennessee mountain home. Isn’t it amazing how one woman can pack so much punch into a few simple sentences?
From her humble beginnings to her glittering success, Dolly’s lived a life full of experiences, and boy, does it show in her words.
So next time you are facing a challenge or need a good laugh, why not channel your inner Dolly? Throw on some sparkles, turn up that confidence, and remember: if Dolly can do it, so can you!
Hey fellow Linguaholics! It’s me, Marcel. I am the proud owner of linguaholic.com. Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in general.