Dolly Parton’s death: the artist left behind a secret song that no one will be able to hear for 20 years

Even after her death on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 , at the age of 80, Dolly Parton still has a surprise in store for her fans. The country music icon left behind a song that no one will be able to officially hear for another 20 years, Billboard reports .

Titled ” My Place in History ,” this previously unreleased track is scheduled to be unveiled on January 19, 2046, the date on which the singer would have celebrated her 100th birthday. The recording has been stored in a wooden case at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (USA) since 2015.

A song and a CD player

Dolly Parton was 69 years old when she wrote and recorded “My Place in History .” She then requested that the box remain sealed until 2046 as a kind of testament. Aware that technology would evolve more than 30 years later, she added a CD player to this time capsule to allow future generations to listen to the song when they wish.

“It’s impossible to know what the music will sound like by then. Let’s hope the device works and that everything isn’t rotten,” she humorously wrote in her book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, published in 2020. The singer even joked about the possibility of still being present when the box set was opened.

“If We Never Meet Again” for his funeral

Dolly Parton had also given a lot of thought to the music that would accompany her father’s funeral. In a 2014 interview with  Entertainment Weekly , she ruled out ” I Will Always Love You , ” one of her biggest hits , also popularized by Whitney Houston. Instead, she selected ” If We Never Meet Again ,” an old hymn blending country and gospel. Dedicated to separation and the hope of reunion in the afterlife, this song was her father’s favorite and had already been sung at his funeral.