Dolly Parton leaves behind an unreleased song that is set to be heard for the first time in 2046, 20 years after her death.
The country music icon, who died aged 80 on Tuesday, August 25, recorded “My Place in History” in 2015 and sealed it inside a time capsule at her Dollywood DreamMore Resort & Spa in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The song is intended to be released on what would have been her 100th birthday, January 19, 2046.
Parton’s representatives confirmed that she died following a “brief battle with cancer.” “Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched.
Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” a spokesperson for the singer told People.
The spokesperson highlighted Parton’s philanthropic legacy, including her Imagination Library, which has distributed hundreds of millions of books to children, as well as her support for medical research.
Parton recorded “My Place in History” in the same year the DreamMore Resort & Spa opened. The song is believed to reflect on her career and legacy as a musician, philanthropist and entrepreneur.
The recording is sealed inside a chestnut box, known as the “Dream Box,” which remains on display in the resort’s lobby.
“This chestnut ‘Dream Box’ is a repository of Dolly’s memories and wishes for the future. It will not be opened until Dolly’s 100th birthday on January 19, 2046,” a gold-engraved plaque beside the box reads.
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The plaque also explains that the box pays tribute to Parton’s uncle and early mentor, Bill Owens, who worked to preserve the American chestnut tree.
“As a final tribute, Dolly has placed a song which she has written to be released as her last. Entitled, ‘My Place in History,’ only Dolly knows its melody and content until 2046,” the plaque states.
In her 2020 book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, Parton reflected on the unusual plan and acknowledged that she might not live to see the capsule opened.
“I don’t know if I want to live to be 100 or not. But you never know. I might, and if I do, I’m going to be at that opening,” she wrote.
She also joked about whether the recording would survive two decades inside the box. “There’s no telling what music is going to be by then. Hopefully, it will play and the whole thing ain’t rotted,” Parton wrote.
During a 2022 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Parton said the time capsule had begun to “bother” her because she wanted to retrieve the recording herself.
Parton described “My Place in History” as “a really good song” but expressed concern that the recording could deteriorate before its scheduled unveiling.
“That’s what bothers me, to think it’s gonna be a song that nobody’s ever gonna hear if it rots in there before they open it,” she said.
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