Country music legend Dolly Parton takes the old saying “the early bird gets the worm” to heart because, in reality, she’s an early, early, early bird.
“I’m a very, very, very early riser,” she said. “I go to bed pretty early, but I’m up and down. If I wake up and I’m pretty well awake, I think, I’ve got so much to do, I’ll get up and I’ll work a little while, write a little while, and I’ll lay back down.
“But I’m always, almost always up for good around 3 a.m. So I do some of my best spiritual work, some of my best writing, and some of my business work—call-ins and letters that I’m writing or whatever—between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. I get more work done during that little period of time when the world is calm, energies are down, and I just feel like a farmer. They say the early bird gets the worm. Well, they also get a lot of good ideas too.”
But before she does anything when she rises, Parton says she spends a moment with God.
“I’m a very spiritual person,” she said. “Every single day, before I do anything, I wake up and I thank God for the night and ask him to bless the day and to bring all the right things… all the wrong people out of my life, and bring all the right stuff in. And just to guide me, lead me. And I always pray that he’ll let me uplift mankind and glorify Him.”
The singer also told the magazine she will read some scriptures to start her day. And to recharge? She takes naps.
“I don’t require a lot of sleep,” she said. “Three to five hours I can work on. Five hours I like to get. But usually, I’m between three and five. But usually, if I’m on the job, I’ll take a little power nap.”
Those naps and prayers have been working great for Parton since she always seems to be busy writing songs or working on new entertainment projects.
Two of those projects came to fruition this fall when she released her first Christmas album in 30 years, and her new holiday movie musical premiered on the streaming platform Netflix.
As CBN News reported, the album titled A Holly Dolly Christmas features collaborations with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus, big band crooner Michael Bublé, late-night comedian Jimmy Fallon, and entertainment icon Willie Nelson, among others.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Parton said the parts for each of her collaborations were recorded separately. Some of the tracks were done before the pandemic, “but then we went in and started doing our vocals.”
Parton’s movie Christmas on the Square began streaming late last month. It focuses on grace and goodwill toward others but also carries a timely message about forgiveness.
The film stars Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski, Jennifer Lewis, Treat Williams and features 14 original songs by Parton, including the song “Christmas on the Square” from her new album.