Dolly Parton's final words on her 'fascinating' life story laid bare

Dolly Parton expressed her desire to tell the story of her life by herself.

One year before her death, in an interview with People, the Queen of Country, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 80, articulated her thoughts on why she thought it was important to share her story while she was still alive.

And her wish did come true while she was alive in the form of Dolly: A True Original Musical, which premiered in Nashville in 2025.

“I have thought for years that my life story would be better as a musical than a biopic,” Parton told the magazine.

“Everybody’s doing that. But because I write, I’m a songwriter and I just felt like that I could write some new original music and you can ... And the other thing too is you can put so many things in a song.”

The 9-5 hitmaker had the believe that her life story would inspire generations, as according to her, she has outlived multiple generations.

Parton shared, “From the way I grew up coming from no electricity in my early years. It’s like I came from the dark ages into the new age and that’s fascinating to people. And it is to me as well, to think where I came from to where I’ve gone, where I’ve come to now.

“I think I was willing at my age now to be able to tell my story. I wanted to tell my life story from me, my truth, not somebody else’s. Because I’m sure there’ll be so many stories of Dolly Parton through the years, and everybody will have their own take on it. Whether it be their take of the Dolly Parton years or whether it be Dolly this or this or that.”

She further added, “But I wanted to tell my story while I was still alive. I wanted to tell how I see my life and how it was from me. So I wanted to write some original pieces. Of course, I had to add all the hits. But the fact that I told how they came to be, what was going on behind, it’s kind of like I did in my Songteller book when I talked about my songs and the stories behind them.”

Parton's Dolly: A True Original Musical is all set for its Broadway release in New York City this winter.