She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs

by Sarah Smarsh

Joking about poverty is a hallmark of women in poor spaces, while more privileged people tend to regard it with precious sadness—a demonstration of their own sense of guilt, perhaps, or lack of understanding about what brings happiness.

Known for her “fake” appearance—the wigs, the synthetic fabrics clinging to a surgically altered body, the acrylic nails in pastel shades—Parton can be a very dark realist when she writes.

I’m proud to call myself a feminist but feel no self-satisfaction about my framework for the term—a privilege of education and culture most women where I’m from have not experienced.

Both she and Wagoner put out solo records alongside the duets, and hers outsold his. They both wrote songs, and hers were better.