Dolly Parton, activist.

Parton's live cover of "Blowin' in the Wind" should probably have been cringe-inducing, but it wasn’t. Stripped down to Parton’s powerful pipes and a guitar, it worked. And she definitely enunciated particular verses, especially the questions "How many ears must one man have, before he can hear people cry? And how many deaths will it take till he knows, that too many people have died?" Parton, who had perfect silence for the first half of the song, finished it to a massive standing ovation from the New York crowd. And however unlikely the messenger, it was almost impossible to imagine the lyrics being about anything other than a direct message to George Bush.

I love it. I'm almost feeling a hankering to head over to Dollywood now.