Fifty or sixty years ago, people had no way to guess that Dolly would become what she became.

She began her career by writing and performing smart, fiery songs somewhere on the the margins of the Nashville mainstream. By 1970s logic and with the help of plastic surgery, she was able to parlay that talent into a mega-career as a movie star and all-purpose celebrity, playing the cartoon version of an Appalachian trash queen.

She made herself the butt of many jokes. She built a business empire. And she kept writing songs.

In her later years, though, it was her grace that took center stage, and that made her the civic American saint that she was this morning, when her death at the age of 80 was announced. She had a politics, but it was never a politics of us and them. To her, everyone was an us. She was moved to lift up the downtrodden, and not just with words. She gave away her money freely and generously. She had a way of inspiring people’s better selves. There was a deep wisdom about her.

Rest in peace, Dolly Parton. What’s your favorite Dolly song?