(Photo by Rich Fury\/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nParton recorded \u201cMy Place in History\u201d 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 \u201cDream Box.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chestnut box is currently displayed in the lobby of the resort and is not supposed to be opened until January 19, 2046 \u2014 what would have been Parton\u2019s 100th birthday.<\/p>\n
According to a plaque displayed alongside the box, Parton specifically intended \u201cMy Place in History\u201d to be released as her final song.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a final tribute, Dolly has placed a song which she has written to be released as her last,\u201d the plaque reads. \u201cEntitled, \u2018My Place in History,\u2019 only Dolly knows its melody and content until 2046.\u201d<\/p>\n
The song\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
And Parton apparently had plenty of thoughts about the unusual arrangement.<\/p>\n
\nIn her 2020 book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics<\/em>, the singer admitted she wasn\u2019t sure whether she wanted to live to 100, but joked that if she did, she planned to be there when the box was opened.<\/p>\nShe also had one major concern: Would the technology \u2014 or the recording itself \u2014 actually survive that long?<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no telling what music is going to be by then,\u201d Parton wrote. \u201cHopefully, it will play and the whole thing ain\u2019t rotted.\u201d<\/p>\n
During a 2022 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show<\/em>, Parton confessed that keeping the song locked away had become something of a torment.<\/p>\n\u201cYou have no idea how much that has bothered me,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanna go dig that up so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parton added that it was \u201ca really good song,\u201d making the 20-year wait even more difficult.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
For now, \u201cMy Place in History\u201d remains one of Dolly Parton\u2019s biggest secrets.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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