Dolly Parton never wants to retire.
Dolly Parton
The 74-year-old singer has been in the spotlight for decades, but has said she has no interest in taking a break or slowing down, because she’d rather “wear out than rust out”, and loves what she does too much to quit.
She said: “I don’t know why I’d ever want to stop. Especially after you get older, you need things to do. I’d rather wear out than rust out. You only have one life. No, I won’t retire. I might pull back if my husband’s not well or if I’m physically not well. But I’d never do it for any other reason.”
On top of her music career, Dolly - who is married to Carl Dean - also runs a charity named Imagination Library, and also owns a theme park named Dollywood, which is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee.
But despite having so much on her plate, the ‘9 to 5’ hitmaker doesn’t feel exhausted by her workload, because “it’s a way of life” for her.
She added: “It’s really not [exhausting], it’s a way of life with me. Sometimes, like now, when you’re promoting so many different products I can get a little physically weary and a little irritated … but you just pull back and think, hey, you dreamt yourself into a corner. You wanted all this. These dreams have come true.”
Dolly also isn’t bothered by the comments people make about her on social media, although she “hates it” when online speculation about her life drags other people into the unwanted conversation.
Speaking to The Sunday Times magazine, she explained: “Well, I’m a very sensitive person. I notice everything - I don’t even want to hear one bad thing. That’s not gonna damage me, but I hate it when they bring in other people - names and all. They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity - that’s BS. Even if some of it’s, you know, based on some truth. But it’s so over-exaggerated, like all the conspiracy theories, some people are always gonna believe that. But you can’t have everything. And I’ve had more good than I’ve had bad.”
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