Dolly Parton, who died at age 80 on Tuesday (August 25) following a brief battle with cancer, had previously revealed the country-gospel song she wanted played at her funeral. In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the country icon said she wanted the song If We Never Meet Again (This Side Of Heaven) to be sung at her service.
Song choice and family request
The song, written by Albert E Brumley in 1945 and later sung by Johnny Cash, was her father's favourite, Parton said. She told the outlet: "I'm sure they'll be playing I Will Always Love You when I die, just like they did with Whitney Houston."
"When they picked her coffin up and started in on that song, I started to cry, and I thought, 'oh my lord', that's when it hit me that she was really gone. But there's a song called If We Never Meet Again, it's an old country-gospel church song that talks about, 'if we never meet again this side of heaven, I will meet you on that beautiful shore, where the charming roses bloom forever and where separations come no more'. That was my daddy's favourite. We did sing it at his funeral, and I would like it to be sung at mine."
Tributes and memorial arrangements
It was announced that at the star's request, a small, private funeral service would be held for immediate family. In lieu of flowers, Parton's family has asked for donations to be made to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library at imaginationlibrary.com.
Since her passing, mourners have been leaving flowers and tributes to the star in downtown Sevierville, Tennessee. The Empire State Building in New York lit up in sparkled pink in memory of Dolly, while flags will be lowered across the US for a week. Fans and friends from around the world were encouraged to pay tribute to the 9 To 5 singer on social media tagging @dollyparton.
In the same 2014 interview, Parton spoke about her love of British singer Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam, and said she had always wanted to cover The Rolling Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, which she eventually did with P!nk and Brandi Carlile on her final album, Rockstar, in 2023.
