Dolly For President

 

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." - Dolly Parton

2020 has felt like a neverending monsoon with torrential rain and hurricane force winds blowing us from one crisis to another.  But in between the heavy clouds, we got rainbows in the form of new music from Dolly Parton, who seems to know just how to brighten up your darkest day.  In May she released the single When Life Is Good Again, a song in which she offers hope and solace to everyone who was feeling confused, frustrated and ill at ease because of the global pandemic:

We've been brought to our knees
We've been so ill at ease
There are no guarantees
But you know life goes on
This too shall pass away
Bring new and different days
We need to change our ways
And right our wrongs

In addition to the release of the comforting single, she also blessed us with six of her albums on streaming platforms and launched a read-aloud video series for children titled Goodnight With Dolly (although I think many adults also enjoyed her soothing bedtime stories).   

The video for the song features home-made footage of different families as well as video clips of healthcare workers on the frontlines of the fight against the Coronavirus.  The video concludes with a message (especially for selfish morons who are more concerned with their "rights" than the safety of those around them): “Be safe, be respectful, wear your mask, lead with love."  This county, and indeed the world, would be a much better place if everyone followed the Gospel According to Dolly.

Then, just when you thought you couldn't love Dolly more, she surprised us with the news that she will be saving Christmas this year with the release of a new holiday album, more than 30 years since Once Upon A Christmas, the magical album she released with the late Kenny Rogers, was released.  On the origins of the album: “I figured since everybody probably wouldn’t get to celebrate Christmas as usual this year, I wanted to be creative instead of sitting around at the house this summer."  The new album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, will be released on 2 October and will feature an impressive list of guest artists, including her goddaughter Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, her brother Randy Parton, Willie Nelson and Michael Bublé.  The full tracklist is as follows:

Holly Jolly Christmas
Christmas Is - featuring Miley Cyrus
Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas - with Michael Bublé
Christmas On The Square
Circle Of Love
All I Want For Christmas Is You - with Jimmy Fallon
Comin’ Home For Christmas
Christmas Where We Are - featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
Pretty Paper - with Willie Nelson
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
You Are My Christmas - featuring Randy Parton
Mary, Did You Know?

One of my favourite feel-good Dolly quotes is: "If you see someone without a smile give them yours".  But I'd adjust that to say, "If you see someone without a smile, give them Dolly's music".  

Happy Dollydays y'all!