Lyrics

From a little Tennessee mountain town
Came a voice the whole world couldn't hold down
Big dreams, bigger heart, and a way with a song
She showed a million girls they could belong
She wore her sparkle like a badge of pride
Never let the world tell her who to be inside

She didn't have to know our names
To somehow light the way

She left the door open
For every girl with a song in her soul
Every bedroom dreamer with a secondhand guitar
Wondering how far she could go
Some doors she pushed with both hands
Some opened just because she'd been there
She made a little more room for all of us
Every time she pulled up a chair
Yeah, she left the door open
And we're still walking through

She knew a dollar wasn't worth that much
If you couldn't use it to lift somebody up
Put books in little hands and hope in little hearts
Never needed credit for the good she'd start
Through all the lights and all the fame
That mountain girl somehow stayed the same

Yesterday the world got quieter
But Heaven gained one lovely song
And down here all the voices that she lifted
Will keep her legacy going strong
From Nashville stages to little front porches
There's a love of her everywhere
In every woman brave enough to chase it
Because she showed us we belonged there

She left the door open
And Lord, look at all who've come through
Generations of women standing taller
Because one mountain girl stayed true
Some knew her, most never would
But that never mattered anyhow
She gave us more than songs to sing
She gave us reasons to sing 'em loud
Yeah, she left the door open
And we'll leave it open too

So here's to the girl from Tennessee
Who showed us what a country girl could be
The light may've gone home
But look around this room—
Dolly...
You left the door open.