For the next 20 years, one of Dolly Parton’s songs will remain unheard, sealed inside a wooden box at a Tennessee resort with strict instructions from the country music legend. Parton, the American country music icon, died on Tuesday, August 25, at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer, according to reports. Her death was confirmed by her nephew, Brian Seaver, in a video statement he said she had asked him to record years in advance. Tucked behind glass in the lower lobby of Dollywood's DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, sits a chestnut container known as the Dream Box. It has stood there since 2015, largely unremarked upon by the millions of tourists who pass through the resort each year. Inside it is a single recording, titled My Place in History, written and sealed by Parton a decade ago on a CD, with strict instructions that it not be opened until January 19, 2046 — the date she would have turned 100. The box also holds a copy of her 2012 book, Dream More, a piece of wood taken from the porch of her childhood home in the Smoky Mountains, and a CD player included specifically so the recording could still be played whenever the box is eventually opened. The chestnut box itself was built by her uncle and early mentor, Bill Owens, known for his work preserving the American chestnut tree. Parton wrote about the arrangement in her 2020 book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, saying she was unsure whether she wanted to live to 100, but that she would be present at the opening if she did. Speaking on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2022, she admitted the long wait to release the song had weighed on her over the years. The box will stay locked until 2046, when My Place in History is set to become Dolly Parton's final released song. Parton's career spanned more than six decades and included hits such as Jolene and I Will Always Love You. She sold over 100 million records and was widely recognised for her philanthropy, including the Imagination Library, which has distributed hundreds of millions of free books to children worldwide. Tributes to her have come in from across the music industry and American politics, including from US President Donald Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-staff for one week in her honour.
