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Melissa Harris-Perry: That's Ms. Dolly Parton singing the hit song we all know and love, 9 to 5.
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Melissa Harris-Perry: Now, the country singer's hits like 9 to 5 and Jolene, they've transcended generational boundaries of the '70s and '80s. Parton remains an icon even among those Gen Zers. I mean my 20-year-old daughter, Parker, was sporting a Dolly Parton tote bag just this past weekend. It was emblazoned with the sage wisdom, 'It's hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.'
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Melissa Harris-Perry: Now, while Dolly Parton's legacy is linked to catchy country tunes and cowboy boots, Parton's music holds a much deeper meaning for those who have turned to her in times of pain and trauma. Lynn Melnick is the author of the new book, I've Had To Think Up a Way to Survive: On Trauma, Persistence, and Dolly Parton. Melnick's book explores Dolly Parton's career and music intertwined with a reflection on Melnick's own story of trauma and perseverance. Talk to me about Dolly Parton as a feminist icon.
Lynn Melnick: Yes, it's a little bit complicated because she is a feminist icon. She's been in Ms. Magazine several times, starting years ago, and her songs. She writes so many songs, and they're all so deeply feminist and almost ahead of their time when she was first writing in the '60s and '70s.
Yet, for years, she was super reluctant to call herself a feminist. She would say things like, "I'm feminine," or "I'm all for the gals." Things that would skirt the issue because she was for a very long time and still somewhat very apolitical. She didn't want to come down on either side.
In this case, her actions are speaking louder than saying the word feminist. She has always moved in very feminist ways, written very feminist songs. In 2020, she finally did say she was a feminist in an interview she gave with Time Magazine, so that was exciting.
Melissa Harris-Perry: Now, this isn't really exclusively a book about Dolly Parton. This is, in so many ways, the ways that we think about Dolly Parton in context of our own lives. Can you take us through her songs and the ways that they have touched and brought meaning to your life in some pretty tough times?
Lynn Melnick: I set out to write a book on Dolly Parton. The more I wrote about Dolly, the more I found her intersecting with my own life because her songs have been with me throughout almost my entire life. I'm one of many. I feel like we could all write our own Dolly Parton book that also included memoir because she's just been around so long.
The first time that I remember hearing a Dolly Parton song from start to finish, I was being checked into drug rehab when I was 14 years old. The song was Islands in the Stream. It was like a light bulb went off in my head. She seemed like such a beacon to me. She's remained that way.
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Lynn Melnick: I wrote most of this book during the pandemic. I feel like she was still getting me through things because I was still listening to her songs, trying to make it through. That's how the book came into being.
Melissa Harris-Perry: Why did you set out to write a book about Dolly Parton in the first place?
Lynn Melnick: Well, I had just finished writing my third book of poetry. I write heavy stuff. I write a lot about rape culture and surviving trauma. I was just tired. I was tired of mining my own trauma and thinking about these issues, and I wanted to find some joy. I set this intention for myself.
I actually tweeted out in the end of 2018, 'What if I spend all of 2019 writing about Dolly Parton?' Once I tweeted it, it was kind of a throwaway thing. I thought, "Wait, why not?" She's the thing that brings me joy. I wanted to write about her and see where it went and where it took me. I laugh at myself because I still end up writing about trauma and rape culture and all the things I always write about, but with Dolly by my side, it just felt like such a joyous experience.
Melissa Harris-Perry: For those who don't know the sketch of Parton's biography, what is the Dolly Parton story?
Lynn Melnick: Well, she's one of 12 children. She grew up in Appalachia in poverty. Her famous song, Coat of Many Colors is about that. She's written many songs about growing up in poverty. She used to perform for her siblings and her chickens on the front porch with a tin can on a piece of wood as her microphone. She just always knew where she was going.
At her high school graduation, all the students were asked to say what they were going to do next, and she was like, "I'm going go to Nashville and be a star," and everyone laughed. She was like, "You don't know how I'm going to be a star." The next morning after high school graduation, she gets on a bus and goes to Nashville. She worked her way up. At first, she was a songwriter, and then she got her big break on the Porter Wagoner Show, which was then a very popular variety show.
Porter Wagoner: Her name is Dolly Parton. Come out.
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Lynn Melnick: When she was done with that, she broke out on her own and became the Dolly that we all know. She recorded Here You Come Again and 9 to 5. 9 to 5 is when she got into films and became an actress. She just consistently released records for years, for decades since the '60s, and she knows how to both stay with the times and also stay true to herself. I think that's why she is an icon and such a beacon for everyone.
At the same time, she can poke fun at herself. She's very aware of how people perceive her because she does have an outsized look and an outsized personality. She's used that to her advantage, and she's just very lovable as well.
Melissa Harris-Perry: How did you make the decision about when to bring your own story into Dolly's and to interweave it in this book?
Lynn Melnick: I think a lot of it, when I write poetry too, is just instinctual, it feels right. It flows in a way. Sometimes I think my pen just takes over my brain. A lot of these songs, they just call to mind specific moments where a heavy thing was happening to me, and a song was always there with me. It was impossible to tell my story in any way with Dolly's music without including some of the traumatic parts because the songs were always there during that time, saving me.
For a while, I was stalked by an ex-boyfriend, and a lot of this takes place around my obsession with Dolly's Little Sparrow album, specifically the title song Little Sparrow. Although I love the song, it's impossible for me to think and write about the song without also including some of the terror that I went through.
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Lynn Melnick: That was the revelation for me about writing this book, was just how intertwined Dolly has been in both the joys and the darkest moments of my life. She's just been this guardian angel for me.
Melissa Harris-Perry: Have you told Dolly Parton this?
Lynn Melnick: No, I've never met Dolly. I hope she reads the book and she learns this. I think she's that person for so many of us. I've had conversations with other of us Dollyologists, and they all have the same feeling like, "What would I have done without her?" I can't imagine what it must feel like to be Dolly and to know that you have changed, sometimes even saved the lives of so many just through your art. That's just such a beautiful gift.
Melissa Harris-Perry: Lynn Melnick is author of the new book, I've Had To Think Up a Way to Survive: On Trauma, Persistence, and Dolly Parton. Lynn, thanks so much for joining us today.
Lynn Melnick: Thank you so much for having me.
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