Dolly Parton once disclosed that one of her unreleased songs is locked away in a time capsule — and fans will not be able to hear it until 2045.
During a December 2022 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Parton, then 76, explained that she had written and recorded a track specifically for the capsule, meaning the song is set to remain sealed away for nearly another two decades.
“You have no idea how that has bothered me,” the country music legend told Clarkson. “I wanna go dig that up so bad. It’s a really good song!”
Parton also joked about the long wait, pointing out that she would be 99 years old when the capsule is scheduled to be opened. “I might be here, I might not be,” she said during the interview.
“I don’t know whose damn idea that was,” Parton added, drawing laughter from the studio audience.
She went on to admit that the uncertainty bothered her most. “They weren’t expecting me to be there at all, and I probably won’t be. I might be there, who knows,” she said. “I figure it’ll probably disintegrate and nobody will ever hear it, that’s what bothers me… if it rots in there before they open it.”
Dolly Parton said in a resurfaced interview that an unreleased song of hers is sealed inside a time capsule until 2045
Parton discussed the hidden recording on The Kelly Clarkson Show in December 2022, when she was 76
Parton previously discussed the hidden song in her 2020 memoir Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.
She likened tucking the tune away to ‘burying one of my kids, putting it on ice or something, and I won’t be around to see it brought back to life.’
She lamented: ‘It’s just burning me up inside that I have to leave it in there.’
Parton’s death was confirmed on Tuesday in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also served as her head of security.
She passed away after being admitted Friday to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems, according to TMZ.
‘This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,’ Seaver said in the clip.
He praised his famous aunt for having ‘lived in the light’ and said she was now ‘in the arms of Jesus’ and the company of her late husband Carl Dean, as well as her parents and ‘countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.’
Parton enjoyed an illustrious music career that stretched six decades and was best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5.
Her death comes after months of health issues that forced her to pull out of a string of public appearances.
‘You have no idea how that has bothered me,’ she told Clarkson. ‘I wanna go dig that up so bad. It’s a really good song!’
Parton even acknowledged that she might not be alive to see the song unearthed, noting that she would be 99 by the time the capsule is unlocked. ‘I might be here, I might not be,’ she said at the time
Parton lost her husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, in March 2025. She was just 18 years old when she first crossed paths with him in 1964 at Nashville’s Wishy Washy Laundromat
Parton lost her husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, in March 2025.
She was just 18 years old when she first crossed paths with him in 1964 at Nashville’s Wishy Washy Laundromat.
Three days after his death, the Grammy-winning artist released a song dedicated to him, called If You Hadn’t Been There.
Weeks later, she took to Instagram to share her reaction to the tribute paid to Dean at Opry 100: A Live Celebration show.
Stars including Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Lady A and about 50 members of the Opry’s choir performed Parton’s 1974 song I Will Always Love You in remembrance of Dean.
Via Instagram Stories, Dolly wrote to her 7.5 million followers: ‘I have not stopped crying over the beautiful tribute of ‘I Will Always Love You’ on the 100th Anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry show.’
She added: ‘All those beautiful people with all their beautiful voices singing my song as a tribute to my husband Carl… the emotion was beyond words.’
‘I have cried enough to wash a great deal of the pain away so thanks to all of you beautiful people that helped make that possible. I also will always love you.’
