Dolly Parton's final song, 'My Place in History,' remains unheard and sealed inside a time capsule at her theme park Dollywood, with instructions that it not be opened until 2046.
The country music legend, who died on 26 August 2026 at the age of 80, revealed the existence of the hidden track during a 2022 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She recorded the song in 2015 to mark the opening of her Dollywood DreamMore resort.
Sealed in a Dream Box
The track is stored in a chestnut 'Dream Box' that also contains a CD player and a cassette player, placed somewhere within Dollywood. According to a fan photo of the description beside the box, it will not be opened until Parton's 100th birthday on 19 January 2046.
The description 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."
Second thoughts about the song
Speaking on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2022, Parton explained how the idea came about: "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."
She admitted to having regrets about the decision, saying: "I don't know whose damn idea that was. 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."
A personal tribute
In her 2020 autobiography Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, Parton wrote that securing the song away felt like "burying one of my kids" or "putting it on ice or something." She added: "I won't be around to see it brought back to life," noting that it was "burning me up inside that I have to leave it in there."
The description also states: "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."
