Despite becoming one of the most glamorous and beloved icons of country music (and pop culture in general), Dolly Parton has never forgotten her humble roots in the Appalachian mountain town of Sevierville, Tennessee, thanks in no small part to her father’s lighthearted ribbing about something she considered one of her greatest accomplishments: a bronze statue of herself, complete with acoustic guitar and butterfly, in the Sevier County Courthouse.
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Parton’s father might have teased his daughter about her statue. But his secret ritual, which he partook in after the courthouse closed, proved just how proud he was of his little girl-turned-superstar.
How Dolly Parton’s Father Kept Her Humble About Her Courthouse Statue
Sevier County erected a bronze statue of Dolly Parton in early May 1987 to celebrate the country icon who had spent her childhood tromping through the woods and hollers of Sevierville, Tennessee. By 1987, Parton was an international superstar with multiple chart-topping hits. But that statue in her hometown’s courthouse square was something special.
“I remember myself being so proud of that statue,” Parton recalled in an episode of the Time To Walk podcast. “Not in an arrogant way. But I was just so proud because 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.’”
Unsurprisingly, Parton was incredibly excited to talk about her courthouse statue. During an appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Parton mused that she must have been bragging about it a little too much. And in true father fashion, Robert Lee Parton wasn’t going to watch his daughter get a big head. Speaking on the Time to Walk podcast, Parton recalled asking her father if he had heard the news about her statue.
“Daddy said, ‘Well, yeah, I heard about that.’ 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.”
Parton’s father’s lighthearted jokes are part of what has helped the country star stay so humble after decades in the entertainment industry. She’s never forgotten her roots or where she came from, if for no other reason than her family wouldn’t let her forget.
The Dad’s Secret Nighttime Ritual Brought the Singer To Tears
Dolly Parton’s father reminding his daughter that she was “just another outhouse” to the pigeon population of Sevier County, Tennessee, sounds like your run-of-the-mill dad burn. But Parton later discovered that her father cared far more about the statue than he ever let on in person. “Dad used to go down there with a bucket of soapy water in the back of his pickup truck with a broom after hours and scrub all the pigeon poop off of my statue,” Parton said in Time to Walk.
During an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, Parton explained that one of her brothers was the one who told her about her dad’s secret nighttime ritual after his passing. When she heard what her father did for her statue, she burst into tears. (Honestly, same.)
Parton’s story about her father keeping her humble about her courthouse statue is not only a touching testament to Parton’s love for her family. It also goes to show that no matter how famous someone becomes, they’ll always be their father’s child—lighthearted burns and loving roasts about pigeon poop and all.
Photo by Jacob Biba for The Washington Post via Getty Images
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