Dolly Parton requested that this song be played at her funeral
The singer had already explained which gospel hymn she wanted at her farewell and why it mattered so much
Dolly Parton spent a lifetime writing songs that became part of other people’s milestones, heartbreaks and goodbyes. Long before her own death at 80, she had already decided which song she wanted to accompany her final farewell.
Parton revealed in a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly that she wanted “If We Never Meet Again” sung at her funeral, choosing a gospel hymn with a powerful connection to her father.
“There’s a song called ‘If We Never Meet Again,’” Parton said. “It’s an old country-gospel church song that talks about if we never meet again this side of heaven, I will meet you on that beautiful shore. ‘Where the charming roses bloom forever and where separations come no more.’”
The song wasn't simply one she admired. It had already been part of one of the most difficult moments of her life.
“That was my daddy’s favorite,” Parton said. “We did sing it at his funeral, and I would like it to be sung at mine.”
Written by Albert E. Brumley in 1945, the hymn has endured through generations and has been recorded by artists including Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash .
‘I Will Always Love You’ carried different kind meaning
Parton also knew there was another song audiences would associate with her death.
“I’m sure they’ll be playing ‘I Will Always Love You’ when I die, just like they did with Whitney Houston,” she said.
That thought came from an intensely emotional memory. Houston ’s soaring recording of the song became one of the biggest hits of her career after appearing in The Bodyguard, nearly two decades after Parton had written and recorded the original.
“When they picked her coffin up and started in on that song, I started to cry, and I thought, ‘Oh my Lord,’” Parton recalled. “That’s when it hit me that she was really gone.”
The song itself was originally written as a farewell to Porter Wagoner , as Parton prepared to leave their professional partnership and pursue her solo career.
Funeral plans reflect private side of her life
The details emerging after her death point toward an intimate farewell rather than a large public spectacle.
Her representatives said Parton had requested a small, private service for immediate family. Reports also indicated that she would be laid to rest beside her husband, Carl Dean , at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville.
Her nephew and longtime head of security, Bryan Seaver , revealed another characteristically personal request: Parton wanted to be laid to rest in “a beautiful bed of plush cotton.”
“After a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest,” Seaver said.
It's perhaps fitting that a woman whose public life was filled with rhinestones, stages and worldwide fame chose something so simple for her final music.
The song she wanted wasn't her biggest hit, but it was her father’s favorite.
