Dolly Parton Left Behind a Secret Song Locked Away Until 2045

Even after her final bow, Dolly Parton still has an encore in store — we’ll all just have to wait a little while. Years before her death on Tuesday at age 80, Parton recorded a never-before-heard song and sealed it inside a “Dream Box” at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, with the instruction that it should remain locked until 2045. The year will mark the resort’s 30th anniversary and would have found Parton just shy of her 100th birthday. Parton created the box while preparing for the resort’s 2015 opening. Alongside the recording are items connected to her life and family, including a copy of her book Dream More, a piece of wood from the front porch of her childhood Tennessee home, and a sealed chestnut box honoring her uncle and early musical mentor Bill Owens. According to Dollywood, the mystery song was written specifically for the future and shares Parton’s “hopes and dreams” for what lies ahead. The only problem was that Parton wanted the song back almost immediately. Speaking about the idea years later, she repeatedly joked that knowing a perfectly good song was sitting unheard inside a box drove her crazy. “You have no idea how that has bothered me,”...