She could afford to look refined and sophisticated but has held fast to a personal style modeled after her poor-country vision of glamour. She could adapt the way she speaks in the company of higher classes but keeps on saying “ain’t.” She could sing and speak about her world travels and decades of rarefied experiences but keeps talking about the poor folks what brung her. As Jancee Dunn wrote for Rolling Stone in 2003, “Many people who are raised in near-poverty try to distance themselves from their upbringing, but not Parton, whose ticket out turned into a round-trip.”
