We Won’t Hear Dolly Parton’s Secret Song for a Very Long Time

2 min readPosthumous music releases have always been a morally gray area in the recording business. Did the artist want those demos to be released? How did they envision their final message to fans through their music? It’s usually impossible to know ... unless the artist is Dolly Parton.The country singer died on Tuesday at the age of 80 following a battle with cancer, but she reportedly charted out a “road map” of posthumous releases years prior. As her manager, Danny Nozell, revealed in a statement following her death, “If you see unreleased music, products, books, experiences, and campaigns launched through official Dolly Parton channels, you can have confidence in knowing that she placed her personal stamp on it.” Apparently, that collection includes a song that won’t be released until 2046.According to Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Parton recorded a song in 2015 titled “My Place in History” that has yet to be released. Instead, she locked it inside a chestnut box located somewhere in the park and left instructions for them not to open the time capsule until January 19, 2046.That day would have marked Parton’s 100th birthday, and she entertained in her 2020 visual memoir, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, that she might even live long enough to see the day that it’s opened. “I might, and if I do, I’m going to be at that opening,” she wrote.Parton recorded the single onto a CD at the time, and she joked about remembering to include a CD player in the capsule just in case. “There’s no telling what music is going to be by then,” Parton said. “Hopefully, it will play and the whole thing ain’t rotted.”Rich Fury//Getty ImagesDolly: A True Original Musical opens on Broadway in New York City on January 19, 2027.Fans won’t have to wait another 20 years for more Dolly Parton songs, however, because the opening of Dolly: A True Original Musical is set for previews on Broadway starting in December. Then the show will open on January 19, 2027, which would have marked Parton’s 81st birthday. There’s also a Dolly biopic, a Dolly docuseries, and a Dolly scripted series in the works. Plus, the openings of Dolly Parton’s SongTeller Hotel and Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum.As Nozell said when he announced her death, “We will ensure the many dreams she had yet to fulfill are brought to life.”