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Dolly Parton may have taken her final bow, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get an encore… We just have to wait 20 years.
The legend has left an indelible mark on the world thanks to her music, her acting and her philanthropic work. While heartbroken fans are mourning her death, they can still look forward to hearing new music from the Queen of Country, as Parton has left them a surprise: a secret song.
Years before her death, she recorded a track titled ‘My Place in History’, and then sealed it inside a “Dream Box” in 2015, at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
She left a simple instruction: the chestnut box should remain locked until 2045 – 19 January 2045, to be precise. Parton even reportedly included a CD player inside the time-capsule, as well as instructions as to how to play the CD in case the format had become obsolete for the grand opening.
According to Dollywood, the mystery song was written specifically for the future and shares Parton’s “hopes and dreams” for what lies ahead.
“I’ve written a song that nobody’s going to hear until I’m 99 years old,” Parton said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021, adding that she hoped to be alive for the music unveiling. “I might be there, I might not be.”
In 2023, Parton told The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon that she was finding hard to leave the song alone because she thought it was a sure-fire hit.
“I have regretted that, because it was a really good song,” Parton said about the track. “I’m serious. I keep wanting them to let me dig it up and replace it with something else that is not as good.”
Still, she told the audience that they will be in for a treat in 2045.
“If any of you are still around when they open that box, I hope you enjoy my song.”
Parton’s family announced that the beloved singer had been laid to rest after a private funeral on 28 August. The service was held at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville. She was buried next to Carl Dean, her husband of 60 years, who died in March 2025.
Dolly’s niece, Lainey Parton, shared a touching tribute to her aunt and confirmed the news.
“I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words,” Lainey wrote. “From the time I was little, my granny always had a way of making me feel like I was enough. She never made my dreams feel too big or made me feel like I couldn’t do something. She believed in me before I even knew how to believe in myself.”
She added: “Most people can think of at least one bad memory with everyone in their family. I honestly can’t think of one with her.”
Dolly had made it clear before her death that she wanted a “small, private service” for immediate family, and also stipulated that the country-gospel song ‘If We Never Meet Again’ should be played at her funeral.