Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Dolly Parton wants to ‘dig up’ secret Christmas song she stashed away in time capsule

‘I figure it’ll probably disintegrate and nobody will ever hear it, that’s what bothers me’

Peony Hirwani
Wednesday 21 December 2022 05:24 GMT
Comments
Dolly Parton’s Christmas on The Square trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Dolly Parton said she wanted to “dig up” her secret Christmas song scheduled to be released in 2045.

During a chat with Kelly Clarkson this month, Parton, 76, opened up about the top-secret Christmas song she wrote and buried in a time capsule seven years ago.

“You have no idea how that has bothered me,” Parton said. “I wanna go dig that up so bad. It’s a really good song!

“I don’t know whose damn idea that was,” she joked. “They weren’t expecting me to be there at all, and I probably won’t be. I might be there, who knows. I figure it’ll probably disintegrate and nobody will ever hear it, that’s what bothers me. If it rots in there before they open it.”

Parton announced the existence of the song in her 2020 book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.

The “Jolene” singer wrote that putting the surprise track in the capsule felt “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”.

Earlier this month, Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol opened at the Southbank Centre.

The musical combines Charles Dickens’s characters and Parton’s music.

(Getty Images for The Rock and Ro)

“Bringing our reimagined Charles Dickens classic to London feels like a homecoming. My songs weave the music of my beautiful Smoky Mountains into this timeless Christmas story, and I can’t wait for London audiences to hear them as we tell that story, set in a place that is truly special to me,” Parton said of the carol.

Read The Independent’s review of the musical here.

Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol runs at the Southbank Centre until 8 January 2023.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in