Dolly Parton spent more than six decades entertaining audiences with her unmistakable voice, memorable songs, warmth, humor, and generosity. Now that the legendary country music star has passed away at 80, an emotional detail from an interview years ago has resurfaced: Parton had already decided which song she wanted to hear at her funeral.<\/p>\n
The choice was not one of her biggest hits.<\/p>\n
It was not \u201cJolene,\u201d \u201c9 to 5,\u201d or even \u201cI Will Always Love You,\u201d the song that became one of the most recognizable recordings in music history.<\/p>\n
Instead, Parton selected an old country-gospel hymn that held a deeply personal connection to her family, especially her father.<\/p>\n
Parton understood that many people would naturally associate her funeral with \u201cI Will Always Love You.\u201d<\/p>\n
The song was one of her most famous compositions, first recorded by Parton herself and later transformed into a worldwide hit through Whitney Houston’s iconic version.<\/p>\n
During a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly<\/em>, Parton reflected on Houston’s funeral and explained how emotional it was to hear \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d played during the service.<\/p>\n She remembered that moment as one when Houston’s death truly felt real to her.<\/p>\n Even so, Parton revealed that she had another song in mind for her own farewell.<\/p>\n That song was \u201cIf We Never Meet Again.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The traditional country-gospel hymn was written by Southern Gospel songwriter Albert E. Brumley. Its message centers on saying goodbye while holding onto the hope of meeting again beyond this life.<\/p>\n For Parton, those words carried a special significance.<\/p>\n The song was one of her father’s favorites.<\/p>\n And it had already been sung at his funeral.<\/p>\n Dolly Parton’s father, Robert Lee Parton Sr., remained an important figure in her personal story.<\/p>\n Although Parton became one of the most famous entertainers in the world, she frequently spoke about her childhood and the influence her parents had on her.<\/p>\n When discussing her funeral wishes, she explained that \u201cIf We Never Meet Again\u201d had been her father’s favorite song.<\/p>\n The family had sung it at his funeral in 2000.<\/p>\n That memory stayed with her.<\/p>\n Years later, when Parton was asked about her own funeral, she said she would like the same song to be sung for her.<\/p>\n The choice was not about creating a dramatic final moment.<\/p>\n It was about family.<\/p>\n The song already carried a memory of saying goodbye to someone she loved. Choosing it for herself meant that the same piece of music could eventually connect two generations of the Parton family.<\/p>\n In a career filled with hundreds of songs, countless performances, awards, and international recognition, that may have been one of the most personal choices she ever made.<\/p>\n Following Parton’s death, her family indicated that her funeral would be a private gathering involving immediate family.<\/p>\n That decision is consistent with the way Parton often separated her public career from the parts of her life that belonged only to her loved ones.<\/p>\n Millions of people knew her as a performer.<\/p>\n Her family knew her as a daughter, sister, aunt, wife, and friend.<\/p>\n For the public, her music will remain the most visible part of her legacy. For those closest to her, however, memories of home and family will carry a different kind of importance.<\/p>\n And that is what makes her funeral-song choice so meaningful.<\/p>\n Long before her final farewell arrived, Parton had already imagined the moment and selected a song that reminded her of where she came from.<\/p>\n Dolly Parton’s life story was extraordinary.<\/p>\n She was born into a large family in rural Tennessee and grew up in a small two-room cabin in the Smoky Mountains.<\/p>\n Her parents, Robert Lee and Avie Lee Parton, raised their children with limited financial resources. The family did not have many of the conveniences that people today consider ordinary, including electricity and running water.<\/p>\n Yet Parton’s childhood was filled with music.<\/p>\n She began singing at an early age and dreamed of becoming a professional performer.<\/p>\n She later recalled standing on the porch of her childhood home and pretending to perform for an audience. Using a simple homemade microphone, she imagined herself on a much larger stage.<\/p>\n Those childhood dreams eventually became reality.<\/p>\n Parton went from singing in rural Tennessee to performing in front of audiences around the world.<\/p>\n Her journey became one of the most recognizable success stories in country music.<\/p>\n Parton’s success was never based solely on her voice.<\/p>\n She was also a gifted songwriter who had a remarkable ability to turn ordinary experiences into memorable stories.<\/p>\n Her songs explored love, jealousy, heartbreak, poverty, ambition, work, family, faith, and personal determination.<\/p>\n \u201cJolene\u201d became one of her most recognizable songs.<\/p>\n \u201c9 to 5\u201d became an anthem for working people and crossed over from country music into mainstream popular culture.<\/p>\n \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d became an international phenomenon after Whitney Houston recorded her version for The Bodyguard<\/em> soundtrack.<\/p>\n But those songs represent only a small part of Parton’s musical legacy.<\/p>\n She wrote and recorded music across several genres, including country, bluegrass, gospel, and pop.<\/p>\n Her ability to combine emotional honesty with memorable melodies helped her reach audiences far beyond the traditional country music community.<\/p>\n While Parton will always be remembered for her music, her influence extended far beyond entertainment.<\/p>\n One of the most important parts of her legacy is her charitable work.<\/p>\n In 1988, she established the Dollywood Foundation in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee. The foundation initially focused on education and encouraging students to remain in school.<\/p>\n Parton’s commitment to education later became even more widely known through the creation of the Imagination Library.<\/p>\n Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995.<\/p>\n The program was inspired in part by her father, who had struggled with reading.<\/p>\n The original idea was simple: provide young children with free books so they could develop a love of reading from an early age.<\/p>\n What began as a local effort eventually expanded into an international literacy program.<\/p>\n Millions of children have received books through the initiative, giving families an opportunity to build reading habits without having to worry about the cost of purchasing books.<\/p>\n The program became one of the clearest examples of how Parton transformed a personal experience into something that could benefit generations of other families.<\/p>\n Her father’s difficulty with literacy helped inspire a program that would eventually put millions of books into children’s hands.<\/p>\n That connection between family and philanthropy became an important part of Parton’s story.<\/p>\n Parton’s generosity was also visible when communities faced natural disasters.<\/p>\n When devastating wildfires struck parts of Tennessee in 2016, she responded by creating the My People Fund.<\/p>\n The program provided monthly financial assistance to families who had lost their homes in the fires.<\/p>\n Rather than simply offering words of sympathy, Parton created a direct financial support system for people facing the difficult process of rebuilding their lives.<\/p>\n Her charitable work continued in other areas as well.<\/p>\n She made major contributions to medical care and research, including significant donations to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.<\/p>\n Parton donated $1 million toward coronavirus research at Vanderbilt during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping support scientific research at a critical time.<\/p>\n She also contributed to children’s healthcare and pediatric research, including donations made in honor of members of her own family.<\/p>\n Her philanthropy extended to disaster relief efforts, community programs, education, wildlife conservation, and numerous other causes.<\/p>\n Even after achieving international fame, Parton remained closely connected to Tennessee.<\/p>\n Her roots in the Smoky Mountains became a central part of her identity.<\/p>\n She eventually created Dollywood, the theme park that became a major attraction in the region and an important part of the local economy.<\/p>\n Her success also helped shine a spotlight on the area where she grew up.<\/p>\n For Parton, Tennessee was not simply where her story began.<\/p>\n It remained part of the story throughout her life.<\/p>\n That connection may help explain why so much of her charitable work focused on the people and communities of her home state.<\/p>\n When looking back at Parton’s career, certain themes appear again and again.<\/p>\n Family was important.<\/p>\n Faith was important.<\/p>\n Hard work was important.<\/p>\n And hope was always present.<\/p>\n Those same themes can be found in the song she chose for her funeral.<\/p>\n \u201cIf We Never Meet Again\u201d is fundamentally a song about separation and the hope of reunion.<\/p>\n That message would have resonated with someone who spent much of her life singing about relationships, loss, love, and resilience.<\/p>\n The song also allowed Parton to connect her own final farewell with the memory of her father.<\/p>\n It was his favorite.<\/p>\n It was sung at his funeral.<\/p>\n And she wanted it to be sung at hers.<\/p>\n It would have been easy for Parton to choose one of her own songs.<\/p>\n She had no shortage of famous recordings that could have become part of a public farewell.<\/p>\n \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d would have been an obvious choice.<\/p>\n \u201cJolene\u201d would have been instantly recognizable.<\/p>\n \u201c9 to 5\u201d would have reminded listeners of one of her biggest crossover successes.<\/p>\n Yet Parton chose something much quieter and more personal.<\/p>\n That decision says a great deal about what mattered to her.<\/p>\n Her funeral was not about celebrating her fame.<\/p>\n It was about saying goodbye.<\/p>\n And for that moment, she wanted a song that reminded her of her family rather than one that reminded the world of her celebrity.<\/p>\n Imagine hearing the same song at two important family moments separated by decades.<\/p>\n First, it was sung at her father’s funeral.<\/p>\n Then, years later, Parton imagined hearing it at her own.<\/p>\n That creates a powerful connection between generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dolly Parton spent more than six decades entertaining audiences with her unmistakable voice, memorable songs, warmth, humor, and generosity. Now that the legendary country music star has passed away at 80, an emotional detail from an interview years ago has resurfaced: Parton had already decided which song she wanted to hear at her funeral. The…<\/p>\nA Song That Connected Her to Her Father<\/h2>\n
A Private Farewell<\/h2>\n
From a Small Tennessee Cabin to Worldwide Fame<\/h2>\n
A Songwriter Who Changed Popular Music<\/h2>\n
Her Legacy Goes Far Beyond Music<\/h2>\n
The Imagination Library<\/h2>\n
Helping Communities During Disasters<\/h2>\n
A Deep Connection to Tennessee<\/h2>\n
A Life Built Around Family, Faith, and Hope<\/h2>\n
Why She Did Not Choose One of Her Own Hits<\/h2>\n
The Emotional Meaning Behind the Choice<\/h2>\n