Dolly Parton's Funeral Song Revealed: Country Icon Wanted her 'Daddy's Favorite' Track to be Played at Her Memorial
Country icon Dolly Parton shared which song she wants played at her funeral years before her death.
Aug. 26 2026, Published 8:11 a.m. ET
Dolly Parton shared which song she wanted to play at her funeral years before her tragic passing.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the country icon, who passed away on Tuesday after a short battle with cancer aged 80, said she requested the gospel hymn If We Never Meet Again to be sung at the service.
'It's An Old Country-Gospel Church Song'
Parton's funeral song was also played at her father's service.
She picked the track because it was her "daddy's favourite."
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in 2014, she explained: "There's a song called If We Never Meet Again.
"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.'
She continued: "That was my daddy's favorite. We did sing it at his funeral, and I would like it to be sung at mine."
Parton's Tears Over Whitney Houston
Parton's classic 'I Will Always Love You' was performed at Whitney Houston's funeral, 20 years after singer recorded her version.
The country superstar also said that they would play her 1973 song I Will Always Love You which became a global hit when Whitney Houston released her own version two decades later for her 1992 film, The Bodyguard.
Houston died 20 years later at the age of 48.
Parton said: "I'm sure they’ll be playing I Will Always Love You when I die, just like they did with Whitney Houston.
"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.
'Small, Private Service'
The singer's reps revealed her funeral will be for 'immediate family' only.
Parton's reps revealed at the singer's "request," her funeral will consist of "a small, private service for immediate family."
The intimate ceremony is being planned in Nashville, Tennessee, "in the coming days," with her closest family and loved ones expected to be in attendance, according to TMZ.
The outlet also reported that Parton will be laid to rest beside her late husband, Carl Dean, at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in her signature high heels.
RadarOnline.com told how Parton's final request to her beloved family before her death was that she would be laid to rest in a "beautiful bed of plush cotton.”
Speaking in a video shared on Parton's Instagram, the star’s nephew Brian Seaver - who announced her passing - said: "Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy. He farmed the soil. She farmed songs and happiness.
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Parton wanted to be laid to rest on a 'beautiful bed of plush cotton,' says nephew.
"Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest."
He continued: "Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly, Aunt Granny, Gigi. May God bless Dolly Parton, and may God bless you all. She will always love you."
Following her death, Seaver shared more insight into his aunt's wishes, including how the 9-to-5 singer wanted the world to find out about her passing.
He explained: "This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality.
"As her head of security for more than two decades – a role my father Larry held before me – I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it until now."
Seaver continued, "It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly."
