Dolly Parton has said that the unreleased track buried under Dollywood is “a really great song,” confirming an urban legend that’s been around since she first opened the theme park in the 80s.
Dolly Parton has confirmed a long-held urban legend, revealing in a recent interview that she has buried an unreleased song in the grounds of her Dollywood theme park. The country music legend made the revelation during an interview on the Kelly Clarkson show yesterday (December 21), telling the host that the Tennessee tourist attraction bearing her name is home to a time capsule filled with artefacts.
Parton buried the capsule, which she confirmed contains an unheard song, upon the opening of Dollywood in 1986. Now, some 36 years later, the Jolene singer has discussed what fans might find when the capsule is finally opened in 2045. “I have written a song that nobody’s gonna hear until I’m 99 years old,” she told Clarkson. “I might be there, I might not be.” Parton later spoke of her slight regret around burying the track since it is “a really good song.”
“I tell you, you have no idea how that has bothered me. I wanna go dig that up,” she said. Parton expressed concern that “nobody’s ever going to hear” the unnamed song in the event that “it rots in there before they open it.” The singer went on to reveal the additional contents of the capsule, which she described as artefacts that “had to do with the times” in the late-80s. She continued: “They weren’t expecting me to be there when they open it, and I probably won’t be.” For the sake of our collective happiness, let’s hope that’s not the case. Watch Parton’s full interview with Clarkson below.
While fans might have to wait another two decades before hearing the (potentially eroded) track, Parton will release plenty of music in the meantime. Following her induction into the 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, the traditionally country musician revealed she’s at work creating an upcoming rock album, which she said might enlist “a lot of the icons” as featured artists. Parton hoped for Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to be among the album’s guests.
