Dolly Parton leaves behind final song for fans - but you can’t hear it yet

Late country music legend Dolly Parton has secured her legacy with future generations and surprised fans with a musical time capsule to be opened on what would have been her 100th birthday.

The 80-year-old died in Nashville this week after a short battle with cancer.

Parton left behind a legacy that includes decades of philanthropy and human rights advocacy as well as a music career that spanned over six decades.

Fans and future generations will now also have the chance to hear a previously unreleased song from the music icon.

Parton created the musical time capsule in 2015, with an unreleased song titled My Place In History.

A CD with the song and a CD player were placed inside a chestnut box at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

The box contains instructions that it is to remain sealed until January 19, 2046, which would have marked Parton’s 100th birthday.

In Parton’s 2020 book Dolly Parton, Songteller, My Life in Lyrics, the musician spoke about the song, which she wrote at age 69, and whether she would make it to 100.

“I might, and if I do, I’m going to be at that opening,” Parton wrote.

She also made light of the thought the CD technology in the time capsule might not survive long enough to play the song.

“There’s no telling what music is going to be by then ... hopefully, it will play and the whole thing ain’t rotted.”

Parton’s longtime manager, Dany Nozell, released a statement the day after the singer’s death, saying she had continued working until her death and there are more projects to come from the superstar.

“Dolly worked up until the day she died. She loved seeing her dreams come to life, and loved knowing her work brought people joy,” Nozell said in a statement to Hello! magazine .

“Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the te a m that she handpicked, for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come.”