Taylor Swift pays heartfelt tribute to 'eternally generous' Dolly Parton
Taylor Swift has praised Dolly Parton's "everlasting" legacy in a heartfelt tribute.
Taylor Swift doesn't think a "world without" Dolly Parton feels "possible, real, or right".
The country legend passed away on Tuesday (25.08.26) at the age of 80 following a short battle with cancer, and in a heartfelt tribute message, the Fate of Ophelia hitmaker insisted her legacy will be "everlasting" thanks to Dolly's "eternally generous" behaviour during her life.
Taylor said in a statement: “A world without Dolly doesn’t feel possible, real, or right. But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting one.
"She was truly the gift that kept on giving. Dolly gave us someone to look up to while encouraging us to be who we are as individuals. Somehow she was able to give us her lessons about the world gently and honestly, simultaneously, and oftentimes hilariously.
"She managed to give the world the ultimate mystery and fantasy in some corners of her life, but to give full transparency in the ways that counted. Somehow she was true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person.
"She possessed the softest heart when it came to the struggles of others, and a backbone of steel to defend her own self worth as an artist."
Taylor went on to praise Dolly for both her emotional music and philanthropic work over the year.
She added: "Along with her other fans, I am so grateful for all of it.
“For the melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest hearts. For the millions of books she provided children all over the world so that they might fall in love with stories the way she did. For the tightropes she walked so that young girls like me could grow up dreaming of joining the circus too."
Referencing a line from Dolly's song I Will Always Love You, she concluded: “Dolly, I’ll think of you each step of the way."
One of Dolly's final social media posts was a video of the 9 to 5 hitmaker thanking Taylor and her husband Travis Kelce for making a $2 million donation to her Imagination Library - a programme which sends free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas - as part of their $26 million charitable gift-giving to mark their marriage last month.
Dolly said in a video shared to Instagram: "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'm blown away and overjoyed with that gratitude.
"Now, it's evident that you two have made giving back a key part of your lives. When you have your firstborn, can I have it? 'Cause that is gonna be one special baby!"
Dolly again expressed her gratitude for the "very generous" contribution, which will allow the foundation to "continue [its] mission even in bigger ways."
She star blew a kiss to the camera after she signed off her video with a brief musical snippet of her singing: "And know that I will always love you!"
