NASHVILLE -- Dolly Parton has written hundreds of songs over her decades-long career and it turns out her tune "Jolene" is the just right one for getting her COVID-19 vaccine.

"I even changed one of my songs to fit the occasion. It goes, 'Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I'm begging of you please don't hesitate,"' the actor, singer and humanitarian sang in a social media post on Tuesday, just before receiving her shot.

The Grammy-winning legend turned 75 this year. In 2020, she donated US$1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, for coronavirus research.

Parton had earlier told The Associated Press that she was going to wait until it became more widely available because she didn't want to look like she was jumping the line.

Parton wore a purple shirt with shoulder cutouts just for the occasion and a matching purple mask. She put on a typical show, laughing, cracking jokes with the doctor and making sure her hair was looking good.

"That didn't hurt. Just stung a little bit," she said afterward. Then she smiled at the camera saying, "I did it! I did it!"