“I knew he wouldn’t lie”: Dolly Parton’s “Mean” Brother Beat Her Up After She Was Caught Lying
The Partons’ history is the stuff of Hollywood lore. Dolly Parton, the older sister, is famous for saying that the family was so impoverished that “the ants used to bring back food they’d taken from us because they felt sorry for us,” and that they frequently went without amenities like electricity and indoor plumbing. Despite this, seven of the Partons succeeded in breaking into the entertainment industry. There was one such incident where her brother beat her on the way home after she was discovered to be lying.
Dolly Parton’s “Mean” Brother Beat Her Up
The Jolene hitmaker spent his childhood in an East Tennessee cabin with his two parents and 11 siblings. Many of Dolly’s sisters and brothers also became musicians thanks to their mother’s instruction in singing and instrument playing for the 12 kids.
Dolly Parton claimed that despite their financial difficulties, the family always managed to get by. She told the newspaper, “We were poor, yet I never felt poor.” “We consistently had access to food, a shelter over our heads, and clothing to wear. Although it wasn’t precisely what we had hoped for, Mama and Daddy were quick to point out the families who had endured much worse hardships than we had. Everything seemed so natural to me.”
Of all the 11 siblings, Dolly Parton did not vibe with her brother Denver Parton whom she called ‘mean‘ In her first memoir, Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business, Parton wrote, “He’s my brother and I love him, and I wish I could say he was ‘high-strung’ or ‘moody’ or make some other excuse, but the fact is he was just plain mean.”
One day, in health class where the two were in the same grade at school, the teacher had everyone stand up and say what they’d had for breakfast that morning. All their other classmates showed their fancy breakfast items including eggs, sausage, bacon, and orange juice. And no surprise, Parton’s family was not in a state to afford such items.
“I hated my biscuits and gravy,” wrote Dolly Parton. “I wanted to gag them up and poverty along with them.”
And, when she was next in the queue to answer, she lied and said, “Oh, I had eggs and waffles and orange juice and sausage and cornflakes . . .”
But she was unaware of the fact that her brother also was sitting next to her. “Damn alphabetical order! I knew he wouldn’t lie, especially not to save me,” she wrote.
But as per sibling code, at that time Denver saved her by saying, “I had the same thing she had” and made his sister think that she is there for her to back.
But, way back from school to home, Denver beat her up for not telling the truth in school. Also informed their parents.
Peeing The Bed Was Almost A Luxury For Poor Dolly Parton’s Family
Despite her enormous success, Dolly Parton is not afraid to talk about her modest upbringing. Although Parton’s family was what you could term “dirt poor,” she didn’t seem to bother.
“The kids peed on me every night. We slept three and four in the bed. I would wash every night. And as soon as I go to bed, the kids would wet on me and I’d have to get up in the morning and do the same thing,” she said in a rare 1978 Playboy interview unearthed by the animated PBS series Blank on Blank.
Parton reacted with her customary candor when asked if she would get up in the middle of the night to change the sheets, “No, it was the only warm thing we knew in the winter. Given how cold it was, getting peed on was almost enjoyable. Lord. The temperature in the room matched that of the outside. For bed, we would dress in layers”
It is obvious that her family was always the most significant aspect of her life, regardless of how well-known she became over the years. She also never shied away from discussing her modest upbringing, even if the tales were anything but glamorous. For her to be able to make jokes like that, the brothers and sisters must have a lot of love for one another.
Source: CheatSheet
