Dolly Parton believes the world will be full of “better people” when life “gets back to normal”

She said: “When life kinda gets back to normal, I’m thinking we’re going to be better people. We’re gonna try a little harder. I have to believe that. I think we’ll be better after this is all over.”

The ‘9 to 5’ hitmaker has been particularly worried about those who “don’t have faith” as she believes it is important to believe in a higher power to have something to “hang on to”.

She said: “I know a lot of people that don’t have faith. They’re the ones having the hardest time because you’ve got to believe in something bigger than yourself or you really do have problems.

“I often think of people that don’t believe in God, like you. It must feel lonely in there, right? You can’t just run around feeling nothing or you’re just like a little dust devil, don’t you think? Don’t you feel like you’re just spinning around because you’ve got nothing to hang on to?

“Don’t be religious because I say be religious. Because I’m not religious. I’m very spiritual.

“Even if I knew there was no God, I’d still choose to believe, because I want to believe in something good and wonderful. And I do. Some people blame it on the nuns, some blame it on — like my Pentecostal background — the holy roller of hellfire and damnation. Scared me to death.”

Dolly – who is married to Carl Dean – didn’t enjoy having to stay at home for so long but still threw herself into as much of her work as she possibly could.

She told Sunday Times magazine: “It’s always difficult to be locked down for any reason. I’m a free bird — I have to be able to do whatever I feel, whenever I feel like doing it. So I wrote a lot of songs and got a lot of business done, safely and smartly.”