Dolly Parton, 77, Defiantly Refuses To Retire – Would Rather ‘Drop Dead In The Middle Of A Song Onstage’

The country music legend Dolly Parton may be 77 years-old, but that doesn’t mean she’s planning to retire anytime soon!

Parton ‘Would Never Retire’

In a new interview with Greatest Hits Radio, Parton got defiant when it comes to any potential retirement for her.

“I would never retire,” the “Jolene” singer said. “I’ll just hopefully drop dead in the middle of a song onstage someday, hopefully one I’ve written. That’s how I hope to go.”

“Of course, we don’t have much of a choice in that,” she continued. “But as long as I’m able to work, as long as my health is good and my husband is good. I mean, the only way that I would ever slow down or stop would be for that reason. But in the meantime I’m gonna make hay while the sun shines.”

Parton was referring to her beloved husband Carl Dean, who she has been married to since 1966.

Related: Dolly Parton’s Sister Stella Slams Woke Left – ‘White People Aren’t All Evil’

Parton’s ‘Dreams’ For The Future

When asked if there are still things that she hopes to accomplish in her career, Parton replied,  “I have new dreams every day.”

“I have new dreams every day,” she said. “I want to have my own network TV show where I can actually do a lot of new things and produce and I want to have my own story called ‘The Life of Many Colors,” where I have a whole series of my life, stuff that people haven’t seen or known or heard about and my people where I come from, how I’ve got to be and how and who I am, but to really have the behind the scenes and the adventures of my life.”

“But I do want to have my own line of makeup, my own line of wigs that sort of thing, and clothes. So those things all come under that ‘branding’ which we’re doing so much of now,” she added. “So, once you get to a certain place in your career, you get a lot of offers and some of them are just a little hard to turn down.”

Parton had talked about her future dreams earlier in this interview as well.

“I always believe that if you’ve wanted your dreams to come true and you are lucky enough to have that happen, then you’ve got to be responsible because you gotta keep the dream alive,” she explained. “And every dream kind of spawns another dream. You can branch off of almost anything that happens and make a business of that as well.”

“So it’s kind of like a tree with good roots – it’s got a lot of limbs and it’s also got a lot of leafs,” Parton continued. “So, why not make the most of it? And I’m not one to sit around and do nothing.”

Check out this full interview in the video below.

Related: Dolly Parton Declares ‘Of Course Black Lives Matter’

Parton Retires From Touring

While Parton has no plans to retire in general, she announced in October of last year that she has retired from touring.

“I do not think I will ever tour again, but I do know I’ll do special shows here and there, now and then,” Parton said at the time, according to Music Mayhem. “Maybe a long weekend of shows or just a few shows at a festival.”

Parton went on to explain that her husband, who is turning 81 later this week, was the major factor behind this decision.

“I like to stay a little closer to home with my husband. We’re getting older now, and I don’t want to be gone for four or five weeks at a time,” Parton said. “Something could happen. I would not feel right about that, if I were gone and somebody needed me. Or I would feel bad if I had to leave a tour if somebody got sick at home and needed me and then I had to walk out on the fans.”

Just because Parton is retired from touring, however, does not mean that fans will be seeing any less of her, as she clearly has some big dreams for the future. God bless Parton for continuing to show the world that age really is just a number, and we can’t wait to see what she has in store for us in the years to come!