Dolly Parton Revealed Which Song Will Play at Her Funeral More Than a Decade Before Her Death: 'It Was My Daddy's Favorite'

Dolly Parton revealed which song she hoped would play at her funeral more than a decade before her death.

The country music icon passed away at 80 after a brief battle with cancer on August 25. Parton was "surrounded by loved ones at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville," according to her representatives.

In 2014, Parton told Entertainment Weekly that she had her guesses about what people would want to hear when she died, but the singer had always gone back to her dad's favorite tune.

"I’m sure they’ll be playing ‘I Will Always Love You’ when I die, just like they did with Whitney Houston,” she explained, reflecting on the singer's 2012 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 originally wrote the song in 1973 as a farewell to her partner and mentor, Porter Wagoner, when she exited his television program to pursue a solo career.

The song became iconic when it was sung by Houston for her 1992 film, The Bodyguard.

But Parton's pick was "If We Ever Meet Again," a church hymn that she sang growing up.

"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," the songstress explained, reciting the lyrics. "Where the charming roses bloom forever and where separations come no more."

She added that it was a beloved song of her father Lee Parton. Her family even sang it at his funeral in 2000.

"That was my daddy’s favorite," she shared. “We did sing it at his funeral, and I would like it to be sung at mine.”

Parton's nephew announced her death to her adoring fans in a heartfelt Instagram video following ongoing health struggles.

"I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next," Bryan Seaver stated in the message.

"This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality," he added. "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 til now."

“It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly," he concluded.

Parton was admitted to the hospital for "kidney and autoimmune issues" just five days before her death. Many family members expected the beloved country star to recover from her health setbacks as she had in the past.

The singer had recently canceled appearances at Dollywood and her planned Las Vegas residency due to health concerns.

Parton will be laid to rest in a small, private service, according to a statement from her representation. She will also reportedly be buried next to her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean, at Nashville's Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum.