Dolly Parton is using her voice to speak out about lawmakers, saying they frequently put political party and partisanship over people.
“I don’t think any of them are trying hard enough,” Parton told “Today’s” Jacob Soboroff when asked about lyrics knocking politicians on both sides of the aisle in her new song “World on Fire.”
“I’m sure we’re all trying,” Parton continued. “I think often that they worry more about the party than they do about the people.”
In the tune from her forthcoming rock album, Parton sings, “Don’t get me started on politics / Now how are we to live in a world like this?”
“Greedy politicians, present and past / They wouldn’t know the truth if it bit ‘em in the ass,” sings the 77-year-old country music legend.
Asked by Soboroff on Monday which lawmakers the song was referring to, Parton replied with a laugh, “Any of them!”
“If we just do what we felt was the right thing — rather than ‘Who’s going to lose? Who’s going to win this? Or who’s going to look better if they do this?’ — rather than working from the heart,” Parton said.
The “9 to 5” star has long shied away from diving into political issues, often repeating in interviews, “I don’t do politics.”
“My mother was a Democrat and my daddy was a Republican, so I’m a hypocrite,” the Tennessee-born entertainer quipped in a 2017 interview.
“I’ve got as many Republican fans as Democrats,” Parton said at the time, “and I don’t want to make any of them mad at me, so I don’t play politics.”