Dolly Parton Defiantly Refuses To Slow Down As She Prepares To Turn 80 - 'I Ain't Got Time To Get Old'

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The country music legend Dolly Parton is just two months away from turning 80. Despite this, she has no plans to slow down. Instead, according to Parton, she’s “just getting started!”

‘I Ain’t Got Time To Get Old’

“You know, I have just been going so fast my whole life,” Parton, 79, told People Magazine. “And I just start thinking, ‘How in the world did I even have a life? How did I even get it done?’ I really realized when I was putting this book together just how much I had sacrificed in my life. I never had children, so at least I didn’t have a guilty feeling. I’m thankful that I got to see my dreams come true.”

Parton is set to turn 80 on January 19. As she prepares to enter a new decade, she’s approaching it with her trademark sense of humor.

“People say, ‘Well, you’re going to be 80 years-old.’ Well, so what? Look at all I’ve done in 80 years. I feel like I’m just getting started,” she stated. “I know that sounds stupid. But unless my health gives way, which right now I seem to be doing fine. I think there’s a lot to be said about age. If you allow yourself to get old, you will. I say, ‘I ain’t got time to get old!’ I ain’t got time to dwell on that. That’s not what I’m thinking about.”

Parton Reflects On Her Career

Parton has been one of the most famous women in entertainment for over 60 years. She was just 18 years-old when she moved to Nashville, Tennessee to follow her country music dreams. Parton then got her start as the country star Porter Wagoner’s duet partner on his TV show. It wasn’t until 1974 that they parted ways so that Parton could forge her own solo career.

“I knew I had to keep going,” Parton recalled. “I couldn’t be Porter’s girl singer forever because God had a bigger purpose for me, and I had bigger dreams of my own.”

Once she achieved country music success with hits like “Jolene” and “Coat of Many Colors,” Parton successfully crossed over to Hollywood in the 1980s. Indeed, Parton starred in such classic movies as 9 To 5 and The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas.

“You have to grow into things, and you have to grow out of things; that’s how I handled my career,” Parton explained. “I needed to try things. A lot of people think because you’re a girl, you don’t always know what you’re doing. I don’t care about what other people are doing. I only care about what I need to be doing.”

In making her dreams come true, Parton relied on three things: her determination, her gut, and her strong Christian faith.

“I don’t try to tell other people how to do it, how to be, but I know who I am,” Parton said. “I’m a star to everybody but me. I’m just a working girl. I always just say that I’m a workhorse that looks like a show horse.” 

‘I Hope They See My Heart…’

These days, Parton is one of the most successful artists of all time. She has an Emmy, 11 Grammys, 25 No. 1 hits and has sold more than 100 million albums.

“I’m not trying to outdo anybody except me. I just want to be my best self at all times and try to improve every day,” Parton added. “It wasn’t about just being rich; it was about being successful at what I love to do. Dreams nor wishes come true without a lot of hard work.”

As she closes in on her 80th birthday, Parton knows exactly what she wants her next decade to look like.

“I’m at that point in my life where I just want to be able to do good things that can be carried on,” she said. “I’m proud of my legacy so far, and I hope to just continue to do things that might be of use to other people.”

“I’ve had to wear my heart on my sleeve for a long time now, and I cry easier than I used to,” Parton concluded. “But it’s just leaving your life wide open for everybody to look right at you, right through you and right into you. I hope they see my heart.”

We certainly do see your heart, Dolly!

Parton is a true living legend, and there will never be another like her. We’d like to wish her a happy early 80th birthday, and many more to come.

God bless you, Dolly Parton!