Before her death, Dolly Parton long planned a surprise for fans to keep her legacy alive.
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The country music icon, who died at age 80 on Tuesday, August 25, recorded and locked away a new song around a decade ago at her Dollywood DreamMore Resort & Spa in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Parton died on Tuesday after a “brief battle with cancer,” her representatives confirmed.
“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 late singer told People in a statement. “Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.”
Parton’s lasting impact includes a brand new song, intended to be her last, though fans will have to wait another 20 years for the time capsule to be opened and to hear it.
Scroll down to read all about Parton’s parting track:
Parton recorded “My Place in History” in 2015, the same year the DreamMore Resort & Spa opened. Presumably from the title, it is a reflection on Parton’s history-making career as a musician, philanthropist and entrepreneur.
The recording of “My Place in History,” locked inside a chestnut box, is on display in the lobby of the DreamMore Resort & Spa.
“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 displayed alongside the box reads, per a photo published by Business Insider.
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“The Dream Box itself is a tribute to her original mentor and uncle, Bill Owens, who has worked tirelessly to preserve the American Chestnut tree,” the plaque says.
It adds, “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.”
In her 2020 book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, the “Jolene” hitmaker wrote of the unheard track, “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.”
“There’s no telling what music is going to be by then. Hopefully, it will play and the whole thing ain’t rotted,” she added.
During a 2022 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Parton joked that the time capsule had “bothered” her because, “I wanna go dig that up so bad.”
Parton said “it’s a really good song,” but worried that the recording “might disintegrate” before the capsule can be opened.
“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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This story was originally published August 26, 2026 at 5:32 AM.