Taylor Swift Remembers Dolly Parton: 'A World Without Dolly Doesn't Feel Possible’

Taylor Swift is honoring Dolly Parton's "everlasting" legacy following the country icon's death at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer. In a statement, Swift called Parton "true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person."

Taylor Swift released a statement honoring Dolly Parton following the country music legend's death at age 80 on Tuesday, August 25.

"A world without Dolly doesn't feel possible, real, or right," Swift said in the statement shared with People. “But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting one.”

"Dolly gave us someone to look up to while encouraging us to be who we are as individuals," Swift said, adding that Parton shared "lessons about the world gently and honestly, simultaneously, and oftentimes hilariously."

Swift also described Parton as "true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person," with "the softest heart when it came to the struggles of others, and a backbone of steel to defend her own self worth as an artist."

Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, first broke the news of his aunt’s passing in an Instagram video earlier in the day. Reps later confirmed that the country singer died following a brief battle with cancer.

In her statement, Swift also thanked Parton for her decades of philanthropy, including the millions of books distributed through her Imagination Library.

Back in July, in one of Parton's final video posts, she thanked Swift and her husband, Travis Kelce, on their wedding day for donating $2 million to the charity. She called the gift a blessing and jokingly asked if the couple would let her have their firstborn child.

That admiration went both ways. Swift is most especially grateful for the music Parton brought to the world. "For the melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest hearts," she said, closing her statement with, "Dolly, I'll think of you each step of the way."