Country music icon and beloved philanthropist Dolly Parton recorded a secret song that will be locked away until 2046.
Prior to her death at age 80 this week, Dolly Parton recorded more than 60 albums, including a never before heard song that she wanted to lock away until 2046, per WKRN.
In her 2021 memoir, “Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics,” Dolly revealed she penned a secret song. The track is locked in a box on display at Dollywood’s Dream More Resort and Spa in Pigeon Forge.
Inside the display are four personal items, including a box made of chestnut wood, crafted by Dolly’s Uncle Bill Owens.
The box holds a letter to the future from Dolly, the secret song and a way to play it, as well as handwritten lyrics. The song and box are accompanied by a copy of Parton’s 2012 book ‘Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You’ and a piece of wood from the front porch of Parton’s Tennessee Mountain Home, which is now part of Dollywood.
Dolly wrote in her memoir that the idea for the box came after one of her staff suggested it as a marketing tool for the resort. The box reportedly includes a plaque inside for it be opened in 2046 – Dolly’s 100th birthday.
“Anyway, it’s kind of weird or strange that they would ask me to write this mystery song,” she said. “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.”
Reps for Parton confirmed to Page Six on Tuesday that the American icon died following a brief battle with cancer, though they did not specify exactly what type of cancer.
“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement said.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched,” they added. “Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand.”
“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,” the added.
The beloved singer’s death was announced on Monday in a video from Bryan Seaver, Parton’s nephew and her longtime head of security.
“I am representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my Aunt Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean,” Seaver began. “Sister, sis and Aunt Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father, Larry, held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.
As noted by Variety, Parton’s health issues became “headlines in the fall of 2025, when she announced that she would not be able to follow through on a six-show December residency at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace that had been announced as a long-awaited return to the concert stage.”