The song Dolly Parton will always regret: “You have no idea how that has bothered me”
As a music fan, I often feel like we’ve reached the limits of experimentation. Nothing produced feels new anymore; it all gets lost in the world of subgenres prefaced with a “post”. To truly innovate would take something entirely unique and in a world of dopamine-obsessed restlessness, maybe something patient? It’s the sort of gap we’d expect to be filled by David Bowie or maybe Kate Bush, but not necessarily Dolly Parton.
I often wrestle with the idea of how and when I seek innovation from great artists. I staunchly defend the idea that creative elusiveness is the great trait of any artist worth their salt and for those less interested in pursuing it, well they don’t deserve legend status. But I rebut my own point sometimes, when I listen to an artist like Parton. So assured in her own voice and style that why should I expect her to abandon her own confidence?
The country icon had perfected a formula well suited to her atmosphere and aesthetic. Blending folk, country and pop sensibilities, she knows how to create a soundscape where her soprano voice can flourish and paint signature images of love and heartbreak. Fans whose listening teeters on the edge of emotional outburst dote on her every word for not only had she become a sort of lyrical guru for various stages of life, but she has a knack for penning melodies that punch straight to the heart.
As such, dedicated fans want no time wasted from the moment the idea is penned to the time the first note rings in their ear. But Parton, has deprived them of one particular opportunity in pursuit of artistic innovation. “I have written a song that nobody’s going to hear until I’m 99 years old,” Parton said 2022. “And I might be there. I might not be.”
So what’s the catch? In an age where secrets are notoriously hard to keep and the obvious digitalisation of any recording makes it available to any hacker with a computer. She explained that despite all of those fears, it has been buried in a resolute time capsule.
“You have no idea how that has bothered me,” said Parton of her mystery song. “I want to dig that up so bad. It’s a really good song. It would be a song that will never be heard until 30 years from the time we opened the resort.” She added, “They said, ‘You’ll be long dead.’ I said, ‘Well, maybe not. I’ll be 99. I’ve seen people live to be older than that. So I wrote this song, and I can’t say what it is.”
At 79 years of age now, Parton is showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to her live performances. Before her recent musical kicked into action, she was still stomping on some of the biggest world stages in even bigger high heels. With twenty years to go, and a whole army of devoted fans waiting for this unknown hit, I’d be willing to say I’ll be back at my desk in 2045 writing about the moment Parton opened her time capsule.
