Dolly Parton recorded a previously unheard song and placed it inside a chestnut box at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa with instructions that it remain sealed until 2046, the year that would have marked the country music legend’s 100th birthday.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Among the recordings Dolly Parton left behind after a career spanning more than 60 albums is one song the public is not supposed to hear for another 20 years.
The country music legend, who died this week at age 80, wrote and recorded a mystery track years ago and arranged for it to remain locked away until 2046, according to WKRN.
The song is stored inside a display at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, along with handwritten lyrics and instructions for playing the recording.
Parton disclosed the project in her 2021 memoir, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.
The centerpiece of the display is a chestnut-wood box made by her uncle, Bill Owens.
Inside are four personal items tied to Parton’s life and career, including a letter she wrote to people in the future, the unreleased song, a means of playing the recording and its handwritten lyrics.
The display also contains a copy of Parton’s 2012 book Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You and a piece of wood taken from the front porch of her Tennessee Mountain Home, which later became part of Dollywood.
The idea originated while the DreamMore resort was being developed.
Parton wrote in her memoir that a member of her staff proposed creating the time capsule as a promotional concept for the property.
She responded by writing an entirely new song specifically for the project.
A plaque inside the box reportedly instructs that it not be opened until 2046, when Parton would have turned 100.
She joked about the unusual arrangement in her memoir.
“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.”
Parton ultimately will not be present when the box is opened.
Representatives for the singer confirmed Tuesday to Page Six that she died following a brief battle with cancer.
The representatives did not disclose the 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.
The family and representatives emphasized the breadth of Parton’s influence beyond music.
“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.”
Parton’s philanthropy became one of the defining elements of her later life.
Her Imagination Library distributed hundreds of millions of books to children, while she also provided funding for medical research that contributed to development of a widely used vaccine.
“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 statement added.
Her death had been announced a day earlier by Bryan Seaver, Parton’s nephew and longtime head of security.
Seaver delivered the news in a video on behalf of the Parton and Owens families.
“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.
The announcement followed a period of public concern about Parton’s health.
As Variety reported, those concerns became more prominent in fall 2025 when Parton canceled a planned six-show December residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
The engagement had been promoted as a long-awaited return to the concert stage.
Parton’s death now gives the sealed recording an added significance.
What began as an unusual resort time capsule has become a piece of unfinished musical history — one final Dolly Parton song intentionally withheld from listeners for decades.
Unless the plans surrounding the box are changed, the recording will remain unheard until 2046, when the chestnut container built by her uncle is scheduled to be opened and a song Parton deliberately wrote for the future can finally be played.
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