Dolly Parton Reveals The Most Touching Thing Her Father Did For Her

Dolly Parton recently spoke about her dad and why she loved him so much.

Parton, 75, is doing her part to help the people get moving in the pandemic with Apple Fitness+ Time to Walk experience that debuted Monday. She shared stories, photos and songs that users can enjoy and the conversation also led her to revisit her best memories with her dad.

"While many of us feel confined during this time. I'm hopeful that people will take a walk down memory lane with me and we can all feel a little more freedom taking the time to walk together," she was quoted by People as saying.

The nine-time Grammy winner looked back at her close relationship with her father, who was illiterate. Parton's dad was a sharecropper who later grew tobacco on his own land to support the family. Parton was very proud of her dad as she said, "I got my work ethic from my dad."

She also shared how her father and his humor kept her grounded especially when her statue was erected in their hometown.

"Daddy used to go down to the courthouse where they had erected a statue of me," she recalled.

"I remember myself being so proud of that statue. … I thought, 'A statue of me in the courthouse yard? That's usually reserved for presidents and people that have done really great things like that.' So I went home and I said, 'Daddy did you know, they're putting a statue of me … down at the courthouse?' And Daddy said, 'Well yeah, I heard about that.' And he said, 'Now to your fans out there you might be some sort of an idol. But to them pigeons, you ain't nothing but another outhouse."

However, what "touched" Parton so much was how her dad would take a bucket of soapy water in the back of his pick-up tuck to clean her statue at night.

"That touched me so much," she said. "I loved my daddy and wanted him to be proud of himself, as I was proud of him."

Pardon doesn't have her own kids, but she isn't bitter about it. In fact, not having children and having an independent husband gave her the freedom to enjoy her work. She started the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a program that mails free books to kids to help them read with her father's help. Parton's dad was happier with her work for the kids than her celebrity status, according to the singer.