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In the wake of Dolly Parton’s death, we have a bit of good news:
The music legend has at least one more song that has yet to be released.
The bad news is, we won’t get to hear it until 2046.
Parton recorded “My Place in History” in 2015, around the time her Dollywood DreamMore Resort & Spa opened in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Rather than releasing the song immediately, she placed it inside a special time capsule known as the “Dream Box.”
The chestnut box is currently displayed in the lobby of the resort and is not supposed to be opened until January 19, 2046 — what would have been Parton’s 100th birthday.
According to a plaque displayed alongside the box, Parton specifically intended “My Place in History” to be released as her final song.
“As a final tribute, Dolly has placed a song which she has written to be released as her last,” the plaque reads. “Entitled, ‘My Place in History,’ only Dolly knows its melody and content until 2046.”
The song’s title certainly sounds fitting for an artist whose career spanned roughly seven decades and made her one of the most recognizable figures in music history.
And Parton apparently had plenty of thoughts about the unusual arrangement.
In her 2020 book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, the singer admitted she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to live to 100, but joked that if she did, she planned to be there when the box was opened.
She also had one major concern: Would the technology — or the recording itself — actually survive that long?
“There’s no telling what music is going to be by then,” Parton wrote. “Hopefully, it will play and the whole thing ain’t rotted.”
During a 2022 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Parton confessed that keeping the song locked away had become something of a torment.
“You have no idea how much that has bothered me,” she said. “I wanna go dig that up so bad.”
Parton added that it was “a really good song,” making the 20-year wait even more difficult.
The Dream Box reportedly contains a recording of the song along with equipment capable of playing it, ensuring future generations will hopefully be able to hear the mysterious track exactly as Parton intended.
For now, “My Place in History” remains one of Dolly Parton’s biggest secrets.
And in perhaps the most Dolly Parton move imaginable, she made sure that even after her death, she would still have one more song waiting for the world.
