Dolly Parton’s funeral details revealed and the song she wanted to be played

Dolly Parton’s death has devastated the world but there will be no huge funeral with a Dollywood procession, at the request of the legend herself.

The country music icon died on August 25, aged 80, after a ‘brief battle with cancer’.

Her career has spanned more than six decades, creating enduring classics such as Jolene and 9 to 5, as well as founding charities and social projects.

Tributes have been shared by celebrities and fans alike, with everyone from Sir Elton John to Beyoncé mourning Parton.

US President Donald Trump has even shared his tribute, promising to fly the flag at half-mast for the star who has been remembered as ‘remarkable’.

However, Parton’s family have said she will have a small private funeral with no solid plans for a public memorial.

‘At Dolly’s request, a small, private service will be held for immediate family,’ a post read on her Instagram page.

They added: ‘Dolly’s fans and friends from around the world are encouraged to pay tribute to Dolly on social media by tagging @DollyParton or by leaving a message at http://www.dollyparton.com’.

Her family have asked fans not to leave flowers but to donate to her Imagination Library instead, which is a charity providing books to children who are in need.

While it’ll be a small ceremony, some details have been confirmed already – by Parton herself.

In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Jolene legend shared that she had one song she really wanted to be played at her funeral.

She acknowledged the obvious choice is I Will Always Love You, which she recalled being played at Whitney Houston’s funeral.

‘When they picked her coffin up and started in on that song, I started to cry, and I thought, “Oh my Lord.” That’s when it hit me that she was really gone,’ Parton shared.

Her choice is an old country-gospel song titled If We Never Meet Again, which is about ‘if we never meet again this side of heaven, I will meet you on that beautiful shore’.

Parton explained: ‘That was my daddy’s favourite. We did sing it at his funeral, and I would like it to be sung at mine.’

According to TMZ, the singer will be buried in the mausoleum at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville, Tennessee, next to her husband Carl Dean, who died last year.

The couple were together for six decades, having met outside a laundrette on the very same day she had moved to Tennessee to pursue her singing career.

Just two years later, they tied the knot in Georgia at a small ceremony, setting the stage for their incredibly private 60 years of marriage.

Dean died aged 82 on Monday, March 3, 2025, in Nashville, having managed to avoid the spotlight despite his marriage to one of the world’s brightest stars.

When he died, Parton called them the ‘perfect partners’, writing: ‘He is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that.

While she may not have planned for the song to be played at her own funeral, Parton added ‘I will always love you’ in a nod to the 1974 hit.

TMZ reported that her death had come as a shock to family and friends who had rushed to hospital to see her.

She had been admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Friday morning for kidney and autoimmune issues, having struggled with health issues for a while.

Forever a style icon, the outlet also reported that the Queen of Country will be buried in a comfortable cotton dress and her signature high heels.