Dolly Parton is putting new music “on hold”, saying she finds it too emotional penning lyrics while continuing to grieve the death of her husband of almost 60 years.
“(There are) several things I have wanted to start, but I can’t do it,” the country music legend told Khloe Kardashian’s Khloe in Wonder Land podcast on Wednesday.
“I will later. I’m just coming up with such wonderful, beautiful ideas, but I think I won’t finish it. I can’t do it right now, because I got so many other things.”
The 79-year-old added: “I can’t afford the luxury of, you know, getting that emotional right now. There are times like that, things like that, that will stall you a little bit. But I’ll write something else though, if it comes… I’m just putting that all on hold.”
Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, died in March aged 82.
The pair were married in 1966 after meeting at a laundromat the day Dolly arrived in Nashville, “the country music capital of the world”, at just 18 years old. In a statement at the time of his death, the 9 to 5 star said words couldn’t do justice to the love they shared.
Parton’s faith has helped her to cope with the heartbreaking loss.
She recently told The Independent: “I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday.
“And I see him every day in my memories and in my heart, and in all the things that we used to do and all the things that we’ve built together. You just kind of have to learn to kind of make new plans – but that’s the hardest part.”
Dolly has felt lonely since losing her husband but is relieved he’s “not suffering anymore” after being ill “for quite a while”.
She shared: “I really feel his presence. I just try to go on, because I know I have to. And he was ill for quite a while, and part of me was at peace that he was at peace and not suffering anymore. But that still doesn’t make up for the loss and the loneliness of it.”
Carl was always “very proud” of the chart-topping country music star, and Parton is determined to throw her “energy” into new projects.
The “Jolene” hitmaker said: “When I did lose him, I just thought, well, I’m going to take all of that energy, and I’m just going to put that back into other things, and I’ll keep him ever-present in everything that I do.”
Dolly described herself as a “workhorse that looks like a show horse”.
The singer – who has an autobiographical musical in the works – said: “My husband always said, ‘If anybody was ever born to be a star, it’s you.’ Because he sees me loving to do all the things and playing and stuff – it’s play time for me. But I take it very serious.”
Dean made a concerted effort to keep a low profile during his life, and Dolly previously admitted that they were “completely opposite” characters.
She told People in 2015: “They say that opposites attract, and it’s true. We’re completely opposite, but that’s what makes it fun.”
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