Tennessee football did not use Dolly Parton's "My Tennessee Mountain Home" as its fourth quarter song during the No. 17 Vols' 20-17 loss to No. 1 Texas at Neyland Stadium on Sept. 26.
UT didn't play any song over the loudspeakers as the game shifted to the fourth quarter. Instead, the Pride of the Southland marching band played "Rocky Top" and the video board led fans in a V-O-L-S chant.
UT athletics declined to comment on why "My Tennessee Mountain Home" wasn't played and what would replace it. The Vols (3-1, 0-1 SEC) will be back at Neyland Stadium to host Auburn (3-1, 1-1 SEC) on Oct. 3 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
"My Tennessee Mountain Home" became the Vols' temporary fourth quarter anthem after the country music legend died in August. The team has
worn butterfly stickers honoring the "Queen of Country Music" on their helmets this season. Tennesseans celebrated Dolly Day on Sept. 25 (Nine "Two" Five).
Will Tennessee football have a new fourth quarter song at Neyland Stadium?
If the Vols opt to use a different song as their new fourth quarter anthem, "The Way I Talk" by Sneedville, Tennessee, native and proud Vols fan Morgan Wallen could return. It's far from Wallen's biggest hit, but does include a line about "cheering on the Volunteers."
"The Way I Talk" replaced longtime fourth quarter song "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks in 2024. Brooks and Wallen are among the handful of artists who have performed at Neyland Stadium throughout its history.
Wallen is a country music megastar who broke attendance records with two Neyland Stadium concerts in 2024 and has woven East Tennessee references into his lyrics for years. His song "865," for example, shares its name with Knoxville's area code, which purposefully corresponds to VOL on a telephone keypad.
Speculation that Wallen would be ESPN's "College GameDay" guest picker brewed online after he released a camo shirt to commemorate the Tennessee-Texas game. That role ultimately was given to fellow Knoxville native and "Jackass" cocreator Johnny Knoxville.
Ryan Wilusz, the growth and business development editor for the Knoxville News Sentinel, contributed to this story.
Stephen Thompson covers Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball. Email him at stephen.thompson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @stephenethom.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Did Tennessee football drop 'My Tennessee Mountain Home' as fourth quarter song?
