A Tribute to Dolly

I was born and raised in East Tennessee and my family was from Jefferson County which is close to Sevierville where Dolly was born.  All my life, I have heard stories of Dolly and heard her music.  She was no stranger to me, in fact, it felt like she was a personal friend.

A Tribute to Dolly

The cabin was at the base of the mountain, the old homeplace,

Surrounded by fields of wildflowers with plenty of running space,

The winding road that led up there was just a metaphor,

For life’s journey that returns her to this old front door,

This old porch holds her memories of good times and bad,

Rich in love and family spirit, for that’s all she really had,

Neon moss covered the ground around the shaded yard,

Soft and cool to the touch, though life was pretty hard,

She could lie down on that moss and dream her wildest dream,

As the smoke rolled off the mountain top like enchanted steam,

The sky was the only limit for her, like a butterfly, she had wings,

She made the most of everyday and loved the simplest things,

Sometimes she sang “the sky is green and the grass is blue”,

But her motto remained, even then: “to thine own self be true”,

Her laughter was contagious and her generosity knew no bound,

A kind and gentle soul with the tenacity of a bluetick hound,

Dolly held onto what her mama taught her: “Love never fails”,

She may be gone from earth, but the wind hasn’t left her sails,

Her music lives on for all of us, as does her legacy of love,

And now with angel wings, she’s looking down from above.

Tammy Harvey

9/4/2026