The Secret Dolly Parton Song You Won't Hear Until 2045

Dolly Parton is our national treasure and we know it. She's also well aware of the genius behind her hilarious (and now iconic quote): "I'm not offended by all of the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb ... and I also know that I'm not blonde" (via People).

Parton's a far cry from dumb, that's for sure. Thanks to prodigious talent and business savvy, Parton has a staggering net worth, with revenue coming in from many channels, especially her Dollywood theme park located in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. One of the many reasons Parton is such a hero is because of her generosity. The Backwoods Barbie singer is famous for her charitable donations, including a $1 million donation to help develop a vaccine for COVID-19. 

Parton is also brilliant at marketing and one part of her long-term strategy manifested in the creation of a secret song that won't be released until 2045. Yes, that's right. Here's the story behind how this concept came to be.

Dolly Parton spoke about the mystery song in her book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. She explained that, in 2015, she wrote the song to celebrate the opening of the DreamMore Resort at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. (via Today). The song was recorded onto a CD and hidden in a chestnut wood chest along with a CD player. The song is not to be heard until 2045 — 30 years after the resort's opening.

The idea came from her marketing team and the chest is kept safe under a glass display case (via Taste of Country). When some people said Parton might not be around by 2045, she wrote: "I'll be 99. I've seen people live to be older than that."

While it's a great strategy, the experience was not an easy one. "That's like burying one of my kids, putting it on ice or something, and I won't be around to see it brought back to life," Parton explained. "It's just burning me up inside that I have to leave it in there." Parton acknowledged that 2045 is, in fact, a long time from now, and she says "there's no telling what music is going to be by then." Very practically, she added: "Hopefully, it will play and the whole thing ain't rotted" (via Taste of Country).

"Anyway, it's kind of weird or strange that they would ask me to write this mystery song," Parton said. "I don't know if I want to live to be 100 or not. But you never know. I might, and if I do, I'm going to be at that opening."