The One Childhood Dream Dolly Parton Never Got To Live

With a legendary music career and an estimated net worth of around $650 million (and growing), Dolly Parton now lives a lavish life that's a far cry from her humble beginnings in rural Tennessee. She's achieved many of the things she set out to do and, thanks to Parton's charitable endeavors, she's helped make the dreams of thousands of other people come true as well. However, despite her success, the "Jolene" singer has some regrets that are beyond even her power and wealth to resolve. She revealed one of them during an interview with Reverb in 2017, sharing that it was related to a beloved guitar of hers. According to Parton, she used to only borrow the instruments of her musically inclined family members before her Uncle Lewis gifted her a small guitar that she could call her own when she was 8 years old. "He had this little Martin guitar that I loved, so when he saw how serious I was about my music, he gave me his little Martin guitar. It was my treasure," she recalled.

The acoustic guitar, believed to be a small-bodied Martin 5-18, accompanied the country music icon throughout her childhood and the early days of her singing career. Parton adored it so much that she planned to have it repaired when she could finally afford to do so, but unfortunately, she never got to live out this childhood dream. "When I left home at 18, I put [the guitar] in the loft because it was beat up. My plan was always to — when I got money, when I got rich and famous — have it fixed up. But the loft burned out of our house, and burned up my guitar, so I only have the neck of that one," she told the outlet.

Though Dolly Parton can play several other instruments, the guitar will always hold a special place in her heart, especially since it's what she mainly uses for songwriting. And her first-ever guitar might be the most special of all, considering it was likely from there that her first single, "Puppy Love," was born. But while she couldn't restore her beloved Martin guitar, she's since gathered a significant collection of the same model, which she dubbed the "baby Martins," according to Reverb. She seemingly showed off one of her baby Martins in a January 2025 Facebook post by posting a photo of her playing an acoustic guitar in a studio and writing: "Just a girl and her guitar."

Though a fire ruined one dream, Parton was able to turn another one into a reality. In 2012, she told NPR that she created her iconic Dollywood theme park because she'd always wanted to give back to her family and her community. "I'd always thought if I do make or when I make it, I want to do something great back home to honor my father and mother, and ... have the ... family be proud of me up there and all the folks in that area," she said. "So I'd had that dream to have Dollywood." According to Parton, her idea faced pushback from her team at the time, but she forged ahead anyway. The result? A tourist attraction that has created thousands of jobs for Parton's hometown. "I just feel that this is the right thing to do," she explained. "So I went over their heads and did it anyway. And as you can see, it's a huge success. And, needless to say, I don't use those people anymore."