Dolly Parton's final song, 'My Place in History,' has never been heard by anyone but the singer herself. The track, recorded in 2015, is sealed inside a wooden box at Dollywood, and it will not be opened until 2046.
Secret song hidden at Dollywood
In a 2022 interview with Jimmy Fallon, Parton revealed she had one more song tucked away at Dollywood. The track was written to be her last and has never been heard by anyone aside from Parton herself.
The song was recorded to celebrate the grand opening of the Dollywood DreamMore resort. The secret song will drop in 2045, exactly 30 years after the resort opened its doors to the public.
Time capsule contents and fan photo
Along with the sole recording of her last-ever song release, Parton also placed both a CD player and a cassette player into the time capsule, which is hidden somewhere inside Dollywood.
Speaking on the Kelly Clarkson show in 2022, Parton said: "We do a lot of things at Dollywood, and one year we thought about it and they asked me if I'd write a song that no one would ever hear hear. I'd be dead, I'd be gone - or I might not be. Well, maybe not. I'll be 99, you know me! I might still be hopping around! Anyway, I wrote a song and I put it in the box to be opened."
Parton's regrets and the Dream Box
The country music star added that she already regretted locking the song away, telling Clarkson that the track is a good one and that she wished she could replace it with something else.
"I don't know whose damn idea that was," Parton said of the secret track. "I figure [the song] probably disintegrate and nobody will ever hear it, that's what bothers me. If it rots in there before they open it."
She added in her 2020 memoir, 'Songteller: My Life in Lyrics,' that locking the tune away felt like she was "burying one of my kids" or like "putting it on ice or something." "I won't be around to see it brought back to life," she said, adding that it was "burning me up inside that I have to leave it in there."
According to a fan photo, a description next to the box reads: "This chestnut 'Dream Box' is a repository of Dolly's memories and wishes for the future. It will not be opened until Dolly's 100th birthday on January 19, 2046. The Dream Box itself is a tribute to her original mentor and uncle, Bill Owens, who has worked tirelessly to preserve the American Chestnut tree. As a final tribute, Dolly has placed a song which she has written to be released as her last. Entitled, 'My Place in History,' only Dolly knows its melody and content until 2046."
