Dolly Parton, "the Queen of Country," died Aug. 25. But the late legend left behind a musical surprise, new music that won’t be released for nearly two decades.
Before her death, the country music icon recorded a top-secret song, sealing it away until 2045. Parton shared details about the secret song during an appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" in 2022.
"That has (driven) me crazy," she said. "I have written a song that nobody’s going to hear until I’m 99 years old. I might be there, I might not be."
The track was written for the 2015 opening of Parton's Dollywood DreamMore Resort, the hotel adjacent to her longtime Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Parton said she buried the song inside a box along with a CD player and cassette
player, with instructions for it to remain unopened until 2045 when the resort would be celebrating its 30th anniversary.
During the interview, Parton joked about the possibility that the song could remain a secret forever.
"I don’t know whose damn idea that was," she added. "They weren’t expecting me to be there at all, and I probably won’t be. I might be there – who knows. I figure it'll probably disintegrate and nobody will ever hear it."
While fans will have to wait another 19 years to hear the new music, Parton insisted it will be worth the wait.
"I wanna dig that up so bad," Parton told Clarkson. "I need to use that song because, you know, it's a really good song!"
Parton died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centerin Nashville after being hospitalized there on Aug. 21. Parton's representatives described her illness as a brief battle with cancer but did not disclose what type she had. The country icon's death was announced on Aug. 25 by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who spoke on behalf of the family.
"Hey everyone, my name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I'm representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my aunt Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean," Seaver said in a social media post.
She was 80.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dolly Parton recorded and buried a secret song set to release in 2045
