World celebrated country music icon, the late Dolly Parton. [PHOTO CREDIT: Official X handle of Dolly Parton]
Parton was a beautiful storyteller, writer and composer with ten Grammy Awards from fifty-five nominations. Her songs transcend generations and will transcend more. On 25 August, Dolly, at 80, stopped singing for mortals. She had done her bit and bequeathed us wealth we never asked for and may not really deserve. In death, the world stood up for her. Her greatness was undisputed and there were no dissenting voices or off-key choruses. Dolly Parton gave us a coat of many colours, but we can improve on it by ensuring that no child is deprived of proper clothing.
Dolly Rebecca Parton-Dean taught the world that poverty is not a reproach. Not a DNA or a sin. In fact, that it can be a badge of honour worn with pride.
In her 1971 classic “Coat of Many Colours,” she stitched a true story of poverty with the Biblical story of Joseph and presented humanity with unforgettable lyrics. The “coat” was a biblical story of love, preference and anointment. But the Parton coat was parchment sewn with love and worn proudly by a child. Although the coat was sewn from rags with patches on her britches and holes in her shoes, the child could not see her odd appearance. When her mates laughed at her, she recalled the love with which her mother sewed the coat, went on the offensive and tried to turn the tables. She told her schoolmates that the rags she wore were “worth more than all their clothes.”
