Dolly Parton secretly recorded a song for a time capsule – which won’t be opened until 2046
Dolly Parton secretly recorded a song for a time capsule – which won’t be opened until 2046
Louis Chilton and Roisin O'ConnorThu, August 27, 2026 at 7:35 AM UTC
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Dolly Parton secretly recorded new music, which has been sealed inside a time capsule that won’t be opened until the year 2046.
The track, titled “My Place in History”, was placed by the late queen of country in a wooden box at Dollywood’s DreamMore resort, which opened back in 2015.
In her book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, Parton reveals that the resort’s staff have been specifically instructed to leave the box unopened until the date she specified: what would have been her 100th birthday on 19 January 2046.
“It would be a song that will never be heard until 30 years from the time we opened the resort,” she explains in the book.
According to Parton, the time capsule was an idea floated by her marketing department.
“They said, ‘You’ll be long dead [by the time it’s opened].' I said, ‘Well, maybe not. I’ll be 99. I’ve seen people live to be older than that.' It’s kind of weird or strange that they would ask me to write this mystery song. 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.”
Parton joked that burying the song was like ‘burying one of my kids’ (AFP/Getty)
She added: “It’s like burying one of my kids, putting it on ice or something, and I won’t be around to see it brought back to life.”
Parton co-opened Dollywood, a 165-acre theme park in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, in 1986. The park includes a recreation of her childhood home and a museum that documents her life and career.
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Parton also spoke about the song during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2022, joking that she was frustrated no one would hear the song for another two decades.
“You have no idea how that song has bothered me,” she told the host and fellow singer. “I wanna go dig that up so bad. It’s a really good song!”
She added that she was unsure whether she would be around to hear “My Place in History” played to the public.
“I might be here, I might not be,” she said.
Images and flowers form a makeshift memorial honoring Dolly Parton in front of her statue in Sevierville, Tennessee (Copyright 2026 The . All rights reserved.)
Parton, who was born in a two-room log cabin and rose to become the world’s wealthiest country music star with timeless hits including “9 to 5” and “Jolene”, died aged 80 after a “brief battle with cancer”, her family announced on Tuesday (25 August).
Following her death, tributes have been paid from around the world. On Wednesday (26 August), her goddaughter, pop singer Miley Cyrus, remembered the queen of country as an “angel” and said she would “always love her and want to make her proud”.
“My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply,” Cyrus said.
US president Donald Trumpordered flags to fly at half-staff in the US to honor Parton, writing: “This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will.”
Paul McCartney said her songwriting, singing, and philanthropy were “unrivaled in the world of country music”.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
