Dolly Parton Says No One ‘Makes’ Her Write
Dolly Parton has been part of the entertainment industry for decades. Here’s what the “Coat of Many Colors” singer says about writing and how no one “makes” her write.
As a child, Dolly Parton wrote songs to get attention
Parton was one of 12 children. In her book Songteller, she discusses her life and career. She says when she was a child, the one way she was able to get attention was to write songs. She loved how people paid attention to her when she came up with a new song. She says her mother would beam with pride whenever she presented a new tune.
During an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, she says she relished the attention her mother gave her. Parton’s mother gathered people around and told them to listen to her daughter sing. “I think that kind of encouraged [my interest in music], but also, I loved the sound of that music,” says Parton. “I loved the sound of the instruments. I loved being able to create something.”
Dolly Parton says no one ‘makes’ her write
Parton was asked about her songwriting process during an interview with TED speaker Adam Grant on Clubhouse. She says she feels compelled to write. She loves songwriting so much that it has become part of who she is. “I just love to write; I don’t have to write,” she tells Grant. “Well, I do have to write because it is so much a part of me. I mean nobody makes me write; it’s just something I love to do.”
Parton says she writes whenever she can. She also says she writes based on what she’s feeling at the moment. Parton made a point to say that songwriting isn’t just an obligation for her. Writing songs has become part of who she is. She’s excited about the process and it brings her great joy.
“I’m all over the place,” says Parton. “I just write what I feel. Sometimes the melody comes first, sometimes it’s just some words I’ve got. For the most part, they pretty much fall at the same time.”
Whenever Parton can’t work on a song right away, she makes a recording so she can listen to it later. “I have a lot of stuff I can’t write right then, and I’ll write something down and I try to get it to a little cassette if I’ve got a melody going, so I don’t forget it, so I can get back to it when I can,” she says. Parton says she sometimes has dreams about songs, so her tape recorder comes in handy during these times.
Dolly Parton prefers not to have a co-writer
Parton says writing a book with Patterson was similar to writing a song. However, she says one difference between writing a book and writing a song is that she prefers to write alone when it comes to songwriting. She says this is a “sacred” time for her, and she enjoys the solitude of creating a song by herself.
“I don’t have many co-writers when I write songs,” says Parton. “Very few, actually, because I like the process of writing alone. It’s a very sacred time to me but I have written a few other songs with a couple of people, and it was kind of like that.”
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