Dolly Parton

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

God has his plans and his reasons. Sometimes we are supposed to go through things so that we learn lessons.

My lips, I've used collagen. I line my lips with collagen.

You don't see too many atheists on the deathbed. They all start cramming then.

I feel that sin and evil are the negative part of you, and I think it's like a battery: you've got to have the negative and the positive in order to be a complete person.

All my momma's people were very musical. My grandpa, who was the Pentecostal minister, he was a great musician. He played the fiddle, he played the piano.

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

I say, 'Yeah, Taylor Swift.' I think she is a smart, beautiful girl. I think she's making all the right moves. She's got a good head on her shoulders. She's surrounded with wonderful people. Her songs are great. She keeps herself anchored. She knows who she is, and she's living and standing by that.

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

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.

Every day I pray about all I do.

I'll bring my grits when I travel, because I get so hungry on the road.

You can't just wish to be a millionaire; you have to figure out how to earn it.

If I can get my dress on, my weight is under control.

Children have always responded to me because I have that cartoon-character look.

I've done everything every fat person ever has. I've tried every diet.

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 just don't feel like I have to explain myself.

I don't like to give advice. I like to give people information because everyone's life is different, and everyone's journey is different.

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

When I got somethin' to say, I'll say it.

I'm pretty sure in my older years, I'll be doing old-time flavored folk-mountain music.

Love is something sent from heaven to worry the hell out of you.

I've used my femininity and my sexuality as a weapon and a tool... but that's just natural.

I wear wigs all the time on shows, and every day when I'm in public, at Dollywood. People say, 'How many wigs do you have?' And I say, 'Well, at least 365 because I wear at least one a day.'

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

A lot of my heartbreak songs are inspired by things my sisters are going through, or friends.

No matter what, I always make it home for Christmas. I love to go to my Tennessee Mountain Home and invite all of my nieces and nephews and their spouses and kids and do what we all like to do - eat, laugh, trade presents and just enjoy each other... and sometimes I even dress up like Santa Claus!

Being brought up very religious, I have a fear of people that look to idol gods.

I'm just a simple country girl.

I've been to those places where it's 'poor, pitiful me.'

The secret to a long marriage is to stay gone.

'9 to 5 the Musical' is perfect for anyone that's ever wanted to string up their boss, which is almost all of us.

I think I've got my business notions and my sense for that sort of thing from my dad. My dad never had a chance to go to school. He couldn't read and write. But he was so smart. He was just one of those people that could just make the most of anything and everything that he had to work with.

Songwriting is my way of channeling my feelings and my thoughts. Not just mine, but the things I see, the people I care about. My head would explode if I didn't get some of that stuff out.

I think people take me as seriously as I want them to. They take me as seriously as I take myself - let's put it that way.

I think your values are always influenced by your family and your community.

I had to get rich so I could sing like I was poor again.

Thanks to Botox and fillers, as well as the work that I've already had, my face pretty much maintains itself.

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.

God knows when the end of time will come, not some fanatic... The world will end someday, but the end of the world and the end of time are two different things.

I do have a lot of gays in my family now, but some will never come out.

I still close my eyes and go home - I can always draw from that.

I've copyrighted 3,000 songs.

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

When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of being a star. I didn't really know what all that meant. I didn't know.

I don't kiss nobody's butt.

There are certainly a lot of things that still need to change when it comes to women in the workforce.

I think 9/11 affected everybody in one way or another.

I don't like to get involved in things that I am not familiar with. I'm kind of a hands-on type of person.

Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

Nobody can ever make enough money for as many poor relatives as I've got. Somebody's got a sick kid, or somebody needs an operation, somebody ain't got this, somebody ain't got that. Or to give the kids all a car when they graduate.

I ain't never far away from a pencil and paper or a tape recorder.

I have a big gay and lesbian following and they've been very loyal and kind to me.

I think that I know the value of a dollar.

I wanted to write a book that talked about the emotions of children, which is the rainbow. We all have moods. We talk about being blue when we're sad, and being yellow when we're cowards, and when we're mad, we're red.

Find out who you are. And do it on purpose.

My life has been very full.

I don't think you ever really know what all you're doing, so you have to act on faith.

I think that I'm perfect.

I always wanted to be loved.

I would honestly say that with all the awards and all the other things that I've done in my life, Dollywood is one of the greatest dreams that I've ever had come true - I am so proud of that I can't even begin to tell you, Dollywood is real special to me.

If I hadn't been a woman, I'd be a drag queen for sure. I like all that flair and I'd be dressing up in them high heels and putting on the big hair. I'd be like Ru Paul.

God tells us not to judge one another, no matter what anyone's sexual preferences are or if they're black, brown or purple.

People make jokes about my bosoms, why don't they look underneath the breasts at the heart? It's obvious I've got big ones and if people want to assume they're not mine, then let them.

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

A lot of dreams can turn to nightmares... if you don't really work them.

Dollywood is a family park, and all families are welcome. We do have a policy about profanity or controversial messages on clothing or signs. It is to protect the individual wearing or carrying them, as well as to keep down fights or problems by those opposed to it at the park.

It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.

Depression runs in my family on both sides, and I have to be wary.

I have little bones.

I have tennis shoes with little rhinestones that I slip on if I exercise. But I always wear heels, even around the house. I'm such a short little thing, I can't reach my kitchen cabinets.

I come from a family of 12, so I kind of got a little lost as a child.

My husband calls me 'catfish.' He says I'm all mouth and no brains.

Funny thing is that the poorer people are, the more generous they seem to be.

All of my brothers and sisters are very talented. They all sang all right.

Energy begets energy.

Got those moods a swinging, tears a slinging, nothing fits me, when it hits me, ranting, raving, misbehaving, PMS blues.

My nails are my rhythm section when I'm writing a song all alone. Some day, I may cut an album, just me and my nails.

My husband and I had to raise five of my younger brothers and sisters. They lived with us. We sent them to school.

I didn't know any gay people in my childhood.

Of course, 'I Will Always Love You' is the biggest song so far in my career. I'm famous for several, but that one has been recorded by more people and made me more money, I think, than all of them. But that song did come from a true and deep place in my heart.

I look at myself like a show dog. I've got to keep her clipped and trimmed and in good shape.

I was always a junk food person, still am.

They say somebody's 'street smart.' I feel like, if I got intelligence, it's just a country smart.

I am confident that partnering my Dollywood Company with a great company like Gaylord will create something truly special.

I usually get up at 3 A.M. I don't require a lot of sleep, and if I get tired, I'll take a powernap during the day.

The hardest exercise for most of us fat people is that one where we push our chairback from the dinner table.

You always want your people to be proud of what you have accomplished.

I think country music is popular - has been popular and will always be popular because I think a lot of real people singing about a lot of real stuff about real people. And it's simple enough for people to understand it. And we kind of roll with the punches.

I'm working on my life story. I'm not decided if it's going to be a musical or a movie with music in it.

It took me years to eat a lot of shellfish. I was probably 20 years old before I had even seen a shrimp cocktail. I like oysters, but fried.

Every time I come to Europe, I'm just as excited as I was my very first time, which was many, many years ago. I love that part of the world, and I especially love the fans.

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.'

I try not to go around looking like a hag.

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.

I can be accused of trying to be commercial sometimes.

I used to sing songs and write with my uncle, Bill Owens.

'Jolene' has been very popular all of these years, even overseas.

Plastic surgeons are always making mountains out of molehills.