She doesn't have any kids of her own and Dolly Parton is perfectly content with her choice.

'I often think, it just wasn't meant for me to have kids so everybody's kids can be mine,' the 68-year-old singer said during a recent interview.

The country crooner explained that she comes from a big family, including eight younger siblings, 'several of my brothers and sisters came to live with me early on in my life.' 'I've loved their kids just like they're my grandkids, and now I've got great-grand-kids!'

The Jolene singer goes by 'Aunt Granny,' as her husband Carl Dean is 'Uncle PeePaw.' To her kids' nieces and nephews, Dolly is named 'GeeGee' which stands for 'great-granny.'

'I think kids relate to me because they think of me like a Mother Goose or a Fairy Godmother,' said the singer, who compared herself to a 'cartoon character.' 'My voice is little and I'm an excitable little person like them! I'm very childlike in that way, in my nature.'

But Dolly certainly isn't childlike when it comes to her work ethic, as her discipline has made her the most successful country singer in history, with an estimated fortune of £260 million. She has written and recorded more than 3,000 songs, including the classics Jolene, 9 To 5 and Islands In The Stream.

Dolly just released her 42nd studio album, Blue Smoke.